Reproduction device, reproduction method, and program

ABSTRACT

The broadcast signal receiving means  2  receives the broadcast signal of the broadcast station  32   a.  While the broadcast signal reproduction means  3  reproduces the broadcast signal, the request information transmission means  4  transmits the request information for requesting the associated information of the broadcast station  32   b  which is different from the broadcast station  32   a.  The associated information receiving means  5  receives the associated information corresponding to the request information. The associated information display means  6  displays the associated information. Therefore, it is possible to browse the associated information of the broadcast station  32   b  when listening to the broadcast of the broadcast station  32   a.  This also means it is possible to acquire the associated information of the broadcast station  32   b  at the same time as its broadcast.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a reproduction apparatus, reproductionmethod and program, and more particularly to a reproduction apparatus,reproduction method and program for receiving broadcast signals from abroadcast station, reproducing the broadcast signals, and acquiringinformation associated with the broadcast. The information is suppliedfrom the broadcast station via a network.

BACKGROUND ART

Severs of a radio station and the like supply information associatedwith music being broadcast by the radio station via a network. Theinformation includes a song name, an artist name, a name and number of aCD (Compact Disc) or the like on which the music is recorded, a releaseyear, a selling agency, a date and time of the broadcast. Personalcomputers (PC) and the like acquire the information.

Conventionally, there is proposed a system in which a broadcast detailinformation provision server memorizes information associated with musicbroadcast by a radio station. When the broadcast detail informationprovision server receives a request of retrieval of information from aradio-equipped cellular-phone, the broadcast detail informationprovision server makes the radio-equipped cellular-phone display theassociated information that corresponds to the request on its display(see Patent Document 1, for example).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-92556 (paragraphnumber [0008] to [0079], and FIG. 1 to FIG. 9)

However, the acquisition of the particular associated informationtypically requires predetermined user operations of PCs, cellular-phonesor the like to access servers, and therefore the acquisition may beawkward. The user also can not obtain the associated information withoutlistening to the broadcast in real time. Also, the-user can not obtaininformation about music being played on a radio station while listeningto the broadcast of other radio stations. It is difficult to acquire theassociated information of music at once.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above points and isintended to provide a reproduction apparatus, reproduction method andprogram that are capable of acquiring and browsing the associatedinformation of multiple broadcast stations at the same time as thebroadcast, regardless of whether or not receiving and reproducing thebroadcast.

To solve the above problem, a reproduction apparatus in accordance withthe present invention comprises: broadcast signal receiving means forreceiving a broadcast signal of a specific frequency; broadcast signalreproduction means for reproducing the broadcast signal received by thebroadcast signal receiving means; request information transmitting meansfor transmitting request information for requesting associatedinformation of a broadcast station which is different from the broadcaststation being reproduced by the broadcast signal reproduction means;associated information receiving means for receiving the associatedinformation corresponding to the request information; and associatedinformation display means for displaying the associated informationreceived by the associated information receiving means.

In this reproduction apparatus, the broadcast signal receiving meansreceives a broadcast signal of a specific frequency, the broadcastsignal reproduction means reproduces the broadcast signal received bythe broadcast signal receiving means, the request informationtransmitting means transmits request information for requestingassociated information of a broadcast station which is different fromthe broadcast station being reproduced by the broadcast signalreproduction means, the associated information receiving means receivesthe associated information corresponding to the request information, andthe associated information display means displays the associatedinformation received by the associated information receiving means.

In accordance with the present invention, a reproduction methodcomprises: a broadcast signal receiving step of receiving a broadcastsignal of a specific frequency; a broadcast signal reproduction step ofreproducing the received broadcast signal; a request informationtransmitting step of transmitting request information for requestingassociated information of a broadcast station which is different fromthe broadcast station being reproduced; an associated informationreceiving step of receiving the associated information corresponding tothe request information; and an associated information display step ofdisplaying the received associated information.

In this reproduction method, receiving a broadcast signal of a specificfrequency at the broadcast signal receiving step, reproducing thereceived broadcast signal at the broadcast signal reproduction step,transmitting request information for requesting associated informationof a broadcast station which is different from the broadcast stationbeing reproduced at the request information transmitting step, receivingthe associated information corresponding to the request information atthe associated information receiving step, and displaying the receivedassociated information at the associated information display step.

In accordance with the present invention, a program for causing acomputer to execute processing of: receiving a broadcast signal of aspecific frequency; reproducing the received broadcast signal;transmitting request information for requesting associated informationof a broadcast station which is different from the broadcast stationbeing reproduced; receiving the associated information corresponding tothe request information; and displaying the received associatedinformation.

Based on this program, the computer receives a broadcast signal of aspecific frequency, reproduces the received broadcast signal, transmitsrequest information for requesting associated information of a broadcaststation which is different from the broadcast station being reproduced,receives the associated information corresponding to the requestinformation, and displays the received associated information.

In the present invention, when receiving a broadcast signal of aspecific frequency and reproducing it, it requests associatedinformation of a broadcast station which is different from the broadcaststation being reproduced, and receives the associated information, anddisplays it. This allows a user to browse the associated information ofthe broadcast station when not receiving the broadcast signal of itsbroadcast station. Therefore, the user can browse associated informationof a plurality of the broadcast stations when listening to thebroadcast. The user also can change what the user listens to whenfinding another interesting broadcast based on the associatedinformation, and also acquire the associated information thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanation diagram showing the principle of the structureof a reproduction apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a network system in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an appearance diagram showing a terminal device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware structure of the terminaldevice.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of program modules of theterminal device.

FIG. 6 is an example of a geo targeting table.

FIG. 7 is an example of a broadcast station targeting table.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the overall flow of broadcaststation registration.

FIG. 9 is an example of displaying associated information of thebroadcast station from which broadcast signals are being received.

FIG. 10 is an example of displaying the associated information of thebroadcast station from which broadcast signals are not being received.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the flow in which theterminal device performs a broadcast signal receive/reproduce processand an associated information acquisition process.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the flow in which theterminal device performs a broadcast signal receive/reproduce processand an associated information acquisition process.

FIG. 13 is an example of displaying the associated information of everybroadcast station at once.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of amusic related service provision system in accordance with the presentembodiment.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of aclient terminal using functional circuit blocks.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a directory structure.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of aportal server using functional circuit blocks.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a musicdata delivery server using functional circuit blocks.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a tradeserver using functional circuit blocks.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a radiobroadcast information delivery server using functional circuit blocks.

FIG. 21 is a sequence chart showing a user authentication processbetween the client terminal and the portal server.

FIG. 22 is a sequence chart showing a user authentication processbetween the client terminal and the music data delivery server.

FIG. 23 is a sequence chart showing a music data delivery serviceprovision process.

FIG. 24 is a sequence chart showing a trade service provision process.

FIG. 25 is a sequence chart showing a radio broadcast information(on-air list information) delivery service provision process (1).

FIG. 26 is a sequence chart showing a radio broadcast information(now-on-air information) delivery service provision process (2).

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanation diagram showing the principle of the structureof a reproduction apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the reproduction apparatus 1 is capable of receivingeach broadcast signal from multiple broadcast stations and reproducingit. The reproduction apparatus 1 is also capable of receiving associatedinformation of each broadcast station and displaying it. The associatedinformation is supplied via a network.

The reproduction apparatus 1 has a broadcast signal receiving means 2for receiving the broadcast signal broadcast by each broadcast station(In this case, broadcast stations 32 a,32 b) in particular frequencies.The reproduction apparatus 1 also has a broadcast signal reproductionmeans 3 for reproducing the broadcast signal received by the broadcastsignal receiving means 2.

Also, the reproduction apparatus 1 has a request informationtransmission means 4. For example, when the reproduction apparatus 1receives the broadcast signal of the broadcast station 32 a andreproduces it, the request information transmission means 4 transmitsrequest information for requesting the associated information of thebroadcast stations 32 a, 32 b to broadcast station servers 32 aa, 32 bathat are controlled by the broadcast stations 32 a, 33 b respectivelyvia a network 30.

The reproduction apparatus 1 also has an associated informationreceiving means 5. The associated information receiving means 5 receivesthe associated information that corresponds to the request informationtransmitted to the broadcast station servers 32 aa, 32 ba by the requestinformation transmission means 4. The reproduction apparatus 1 also hasan associated information display means 6 for displaying the associatedinformation received by the associated information receiving means 5.

The reproduction apparatus 1 previously memorizes the broadcast stationname of each of the broadcast stations 32 a, 32 b, with its frequencyand call sign. They are preset, for example. For example, when a userperforms a broadcast station selection operation of selecting thebroadcast station 32 a from the broadcast stations 32 a, 32 b, thereproduction apparatus 1 receives its broadcast signal by the broadcastsignal receiving means 2 and reproduces it by the broadcast signalreproduction means 3.

In this example, the reproduction apparatus 1 under given conditionsreceives the associated information of the broadcast station 32 a anddisplays it when receiving the broadcast signal of the broadcast station32 a and reproducing it. At this time, the reproduction apparatus 1transmits the request information using the call sign of the broadcaststation 32 a that was selected by the broadcast station selectionoperation via the network 30, and receives the associated informationthat corresponds to the request information from the broadcast stationserver 32 aa, and displays it.

When the reproduction apparatus 1, during receiving the broadcast signalfrom the broadcast station 32 a, transmits the request information forrequesting the associated information of the broadcast station 32 binstead of the broadcast station 32 a by the request informationtransmission means 4 in response to a user operation, the reproductionapparatus 1 transmits the request information using the call sign of thebroadcast station 32 b to the broadcast station server 32 ba via thenetwork 30. Therefore, the reproduction apparatus 1 receives theassociated information that corresponds to the request information fromthe broadcast station server 32 ba and displays it.

At this time, the reproduction apparatus 1 for example changes thedisplayed information; from the associated information of the broadcaststation 32 a from which the reproduction apparatus 1 is receiving thebroadcast signal to that of the broadcast station 32 b from which thereproduction apparatus 1 is not receiving the broadcast signal. Thisallows the user of the reproduction apparatus 1 to see the associatedinformation of the broadcast station 32 b during listening to thebroadcast of the broadcast station 32 a. During watching the associatedinformation of the broadcast station 32 b, the user of the reproductionapparatus 1 can change what the user listens to whenever the user wants;from the broadcast of the broadcast station 32 a to that of thebroadcast station 32 b by doing a broadcast station selection operationin which a received frequency is changed.

Also, the reproduction apparatus 1, during receiving the broadcastsignal of the broadcast station 32 a or the broadcast station 32 b andreproducing it, is capable of requesting the associated information ofthe two broadcast stations 32 a, 32 b by using the stored call signs,and receiving them, and displaying them at once. In this case, thereproduction apparatus 1 for example requests the associated informationfrom the servers 32 aa, 32 ba of the broadcast stations 32 a, 32 b at aspecific interval of time, receives the associated information of eachbroadcast station 32 a, 33 b, and continues to display it untilreceiving next associated information. Thereby, the user of thereproduction apparatus 1, for example, during listening to the broadcastof the broadcast station 32 a and browsing its associated information,can also browse the associated information of the broadcast station 32 bthat is different from the broadcast station 32 a at the same time.

The reproduction apparatus 1 also presents whether or not the displayedassociated information is associated information of the broadcaststation from which the reproduction apparatus 1 is now receiving thebroadcast signal. For example, the reproduction apparatus 1 displays theassociated information of the broadcast station from which thereproduction apparatus 1 is now receiving the broadcast signal by largerletters compared to the other associated information.

Therefore, the reproduction apparatus 1 described above, for example,allows a user to browse the associated information of the broadcaststation 32 b during listening to the broadcast of the broadcast station32 a. And if the user of the reproduction apparatus 1 wants to listen tothe broadcast of the broadcast station 32 b, the user is able to listento it by changing the received frequency of broadcast signals based onthe displayed associated information, and also is able to browse theassociated information of the broadcast station 32 a. Thereby, the usercan browse the associated information of the broadcast station 32 a, 33b at the same time as the broadcasts, regardless of whether or not thereproduction apparatus 1 receives and reproduces the broadcasts.Furthermore, the reproduction apparatus 1 can acquire the associatedinformation to be browsed by the user.

FIG. 1 just shows the broadcast stations 32 a, 33 b, but the number ofthe broadcast stations is not limited to this. The broadcast station mayinclude a radio station, a television station, and a cable televisionstation.

Hereinafter, a system in which the noted-above reproduction apparatus 1is applied will be described. In this embodiment, the network system inwhich, the reproduction apparatus 1 is used as a terminal device that isconnected to servers of broadcast stations or the like via a network andusers of the terminal device can receive broadcast signals from thebroadcast stations and acquire associated information supplied by thebroadcast station servers via the network, will be described as anexample.

For example, the associated information of broadcast stations includes aname of music broadcast by a broadcast station, an artist name of themusic, a name and number of a CD or the like on which the music isrecorded, a release year, a selling agency, a date and time of thebroadcast of the music. The associated information also includesnow-on-air information (to be described later). Hereinafter, the processof recording the associated information is referred to as a “clip”, andthe associated information clipped is referred to as “clippedinformation”.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the network system in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

In this network system, the terminal device 10 connects to various typesof servers via the network 30. The network 30, for example, is theInternet. The servers, for example, include a CD title informationprovision server 31, a broadcast station server 32, a music distributionserver 33, a CD shop server 34, and a comprehensive service server 35for providing various types of comprehensive services.

The CD title information provision server 31 provides distributionservices. In the distribution services, the CD title informationprovision server 31 distributes the associated information of musicrecorded on a commercially available CD.

The broadcast station server 32 is managed by the broadcast station suchas a FM broadcast station, a television station or the like. Thebroadcast station server 32 provides provision services. In theprovision services, the broadcast station server 32 provides theassociated information of music that is broadcast. The broadcast stationserver 32 has mainly two functions for supplying the associatedinformation. The first function is for supplying the associatedinformation of music that is being broadcast now (now-on-air). Thesecond function is for supplying associated information lists(on-air-list) of music that has been already broadcast. The associatedinformation lists are supplied in response to a request from theterminal device 10. For example, the broadcast station server 32supplies the associated information of music broadcast in a designatedprogram. The broadcast station server 32 also supplies the associatedinformation of music broadcast in a designated period of time.

The music distribution server 33 provides distribution services. In thedistribution services, the music distribution server 33 distributesmusic digital data (music data). For example, the music distributionserver 33 delivers music data only to the terminal device 10 of the userwho has done a procedure to purchase it. The music distribution server33 is also capable of supplying the associated information of thedistribution music.

The CD shop server 34 provides services such as accepting online orderof CDs. The CD shop server 34 also provides distribution services ofdistributing demo audio data and the like. The CD shop server 34 alsoprovides provision services of providing the associated information ofmusic recorded on a CD for sale.

As just described, these servers perform provision services in whichthey supply information associated with a piece of music or group ofmusic at the network 30. It means that each server works as sources of apiece of music or group of music at the network 30.

The servers shown in FIG. 2 are an example of devices that distribute apiece of music or group of music as sources. That is to say, the devicesthat have a piece of music or group of music accessible from otherdevices via the network 30 can work as sources of a piece of music orgroup of music at the network 30.

The music distribution server 33 and the CD shop server 34 work as musicpurchasable servers. The music distribution server 33 and the CD shopserver 34 have a function to sell audio data of a piece of music orgroup of music online. The user can purchase a piece of music or groupof music via the network 30 by operating the terminal device 10 toaccess the music purchasable servers. The user of the terminal device 10can download audio data from the music distribution server 33 by doing apurchasing procedure for the music distribution server 33. The user alsocan get CDs shipped to the user's house by doing a purchasing procedurefor the CD shop server 34.

The terminal device 10 has sources of a piece of local music or group oflocal music in a recording medium such as a CD 19 a′, a MD (Mini Disc)19 b′, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 21. These sources may differ depending onpurposes or models of the terminal device 10.

The sources of a piece of local music or group of local music as shownin FIG. 2 are one of examples. Other recording media that store a pieceof music or group of music at the local of the terminal device 10 canwork as sources of a piece of local music or group of local music.

The terminal device 10 also has a clipped information storage unit 21 ato store the clipped associated information. The clipped informationstorage unit 21 a is a second storage unit in the terminal device 10.For example, a part of the HDD 21 or the like may become the clippedinformation storage unit 21 a. The terminal device 10 can make a clipnot only for a piece of music, but also for a group of music. Therefore,if the user just performs one clip operation for a FM broadcast or anAlbum CD or the like that includes many pieces of interesting music, theterminal device 10 stores the associated information of all these piecesof interesting music.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 10 also works as audio equipmenthaving a music reproduction function.

FIG. 3 is an appearance diagram showing the terminal device.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 10 in this embodiment has thesame appearance as a general system-component. The terminal device 10consists of a device body 10 a, speakers 25 a, 25 b, and a remotecontrol 40. The device body 10 a has a reproduction function of CDs andDVDs (Digital Versatile Disc), a recording/reproduction function of MDs,and a receiving function of a FM broadcast and a television broadcast.Audio signals reproduced by the device body 10 are supplied to thespeakers 25 a, 25 b which generates an audio output.

The device body 10 a also has a display unit 17. The display unit 17displays the associated information of music being played, the clippedassociated information, and the like.

The remote control 40 is an input device for remote controlling thedevice body 10 a. The remote control 40 has a plurality of operationkeys. A user operation of pushing the operation keys transmits signalsthat correspond to the pushed key from the remote control 40 to thedevice body 10 a via a radio communication means such as infraredradiation.

The operation keys include direction keys 41a through 41 d, a decisionkey 42, function selection keys 43 a through 43 c, a tool key 44, and areverse key 45.

The direction keys 41 a through 41 d, for example, are used to move acursor or a focus location on the display unit 17.

These four direction keys 41 a through 41 d correspond to the directionof “up”, “down”, “left”, and “right” respectively. The cursor or thelike moves in the direction corresponding to the pressed direction key.

The decision key 42, for example, is used to decide contents displayedon the display unit 17.

The function selection keys 43 a through 43 c are used to selectfunctions. For example, these three function selection keys 43 a through43 c correspond to a utilization function of the comprehensive services,a tuner function, and a local content management function respectively.An operation of pushing one of the function selection keys 43 a through43 c places the device body 10 a in an operation mode of function thatcorresponds to the pushed function selection key.

The tool key 44 is a button for displaying a tool menu on display unit17. The tool menu shows some commands corresponding to the contentsdisplayed on the display unit 17. A user selection of one of thesecommands in the tool menu runs the terminal device 10, so as to executea process that corresponds to the selected command. For example, whenthe user selects one of the commands by using the direction keys 41 athrough 41 d and decides it by using the decision key 42, the processcorresponding to the selected command is executed in the device body 10a. For example, when the display unit 17 shows the now-on-airinformation of music being broadcast, a user operation of selecting aclip-command by using the tool key 44 and the direction key 41 a through44 d and pressing the decision key 42 runs the device body 10, so as toclip a piece of music regarding the displayed information.

The reverse key 45 is a button for-changing information displayed on thedisplay unit 17 to the last displayed information.

In addition, the remote control 40 may have operation keys other thanthose shown in FIG. 3. For example, the remote control 40 may have avolume control key, a reproduction key for CD reproduction, a stop keyand the like.

The internal structure of the terminal device 10 will be describedhereinafter.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware structure of the terminaldevice.

The terminal device 10 shown in FIG. 4 is able to manage, record, andreproduce a broad range of sources such as a piece of music.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 takes overall control of the terminaldevice 10 based on running programs. The CPU 11 also performs arithmeticprocesses based on the running programs. For example, the CPU 11performs a communication operation for communication via the network 30,an input/output operation for users, a content reproduction operationfor reproducing contents from a medium, a clip operation, a contentmemorization operation and its management operation on HDD 21, aninformation retrieval operation for retrieving via the network 30 basedon the clipped associated information, and the like. In this embodiment,the terminal device 10 is able to record and reproduce content data suchas audio data, motion picture data. The CPU 11 exchanges control signalsand data with each circuit section via a bus 12.

A ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 memorizes operation programs executed by theCPU 11, a program loader, some calculation coefficients, parameters usedin the programs. The programs executed by the CPU 11 are loaded into aRAM (Random Access Memory) 20. The RAM 20 is also used for the data areaand task area that are necessary for the CPU 11 to run variousprocesses.

An operation input section 15 includes operation means such as operationkeys, a jog-dial, and a touch panel. The operation means are disposed onthe cabinet of the terminal device 10. The operation input section 15may include a keyboard or a mouse for GUI (Graphical User Interface)operation. An input processing section 14 processes information inputfrom the operation input section 15 in a prescribed manner to generatean operation command. The input processing section 14 sends theoperation command to the CPU 11. The CPU 11 performs control processesand calculations, so as to exhibit behavior corresponding to theoperation command.

The display unit 17, such as a liquid crystal display, is also connectedand displays a wide variety of information. The CPU 11 supplies displaydata based on operational state, input state, and communication state toa display processing section 16, and the display processing section 16makes the display unit 17 perform a displaying operation based on thesupplied display data. For example, the display unit 17 displays thereceived broadcast information, the contents distributed from servers,the associated information of the contents, the clipped information, andthe like. The display unit 17 also displays retrieval results, whenretrieval processes of music or the like were done via the network 30.

Media drives 19 a, 19 b are able to play back and record music on atransportable storage medium (The media drives 19 a, 19 b may only playback, depending on a kind of storage medium). The media drives 19 a, 19b may play back and record not only on a specific kind of medium, butalso-on various kinds of media. For example, the media drive 19 a playback on CDs and DVDS, while the media drive 19 b play back and record onMDs.

The transportable storage medium that stores contents such as musicinclude not only such an optical storage as a CD, a DVD, but also such asemiconductor memory as a flash-memory, for example. In such case, areader-writer device for a flash-memory is connected to the bus 12.

The user inserts the storage medium (CDs, DVDs, MDs or the like) onwhich some contents are recorded into the media drives 19 a, 19 b, andoperates the remote control 40 or otherwise the operation input section15 in a prescribed manner. The user therefore can listen to music. Forexample, when the user directs the reproduction of the media drive 19 aby operating the remote control 40, the CPU 11 orders the media drive 19a to play back contents. The media drive 19 a in response to the orderaccesses to the designated content in the inserted medium, and read thiscontent.

If the content read from the inserted medium is an audio content, thedecoding of the content and the like are executed by the CPU 11 whenneeded. And the content is transferred to an audio data processingsection 24. The audio data processing section 24 performs an acousticfield process such as an equalizing. The audio data processing section24 also performs volume control, digital-analog conversion,amplification and the like. The audio data processing section 24 thenoutputs the audio content from the speaker 25. Specifically, the speaker25 consists of a plurality of speakers 25 a, 25 b as shown in FIG. 3,and capable of outputting audio in stereo.

Also, the contents played back by the media drive 19 a, 19 b can bestored in the HDD 21 as an audio data file by the control of the CPU 11.The format of CDs, which uses the sampling frequency of 44.1 KHz and16-bit quantization, may apply to that of the audio data file. Inaddition, this audio data file may be compressed in a prescribed mannerfor effective use of the capacity of the HDD 21. The compression methodmay include, but not limited to, the ATRAC (Advanced Transform AcousticCoding (Trademark)) and MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer-3).

A tuner 27, for example, corresponds to an AM/FM tuner. The tuner 27demodulates broadcast signals received by an antenna 26 under thecontrol of CPU 11. Also, the tuner 27 may include a television tuner, asatellite broadcast tuner, a digital broadcast tuner, and the like. Theaudio data processing section 24 processes the demodulated broadcastsignal in a prescribed manner, and outputs it as broadcast sound fromthe speaker 25. Alternatively, the display processing section 16processes the demodulated broadcast signal in a prescribed manner, anddisplays it on the display unit 17.

A communication processing section 22 encodes transmit data and decodesreceive data under the control of the CPU 11. A network interface 23transmits the transmit data encoded by the communication processingsection 22 to external devices capable of network communication via thenetwork. The network interface 23 transfers information, which wastransmitted from external devices via the network, to the communicationprocessing section 22. The communication processing section 22 receivesthe information and delivers it to the CPU11. The information that theterminal device 10 transmits via the network 30 includes the requestinformation for requesting the associated information of contents, forexample, the associated information of music played on a FM radio. Theinformation received by the terminal device 10 includes the associatedinformation of contents.

The infrared communication section 28 communicates with the remotecontrol 40 by using wireless communication means such as infraredradiation. The infrared communication section 28 processes the signalsreceived from the remote control 40 in a prescribed manner and deliversthem as operation commands to the CPU11. The CPU 11 performs controlprocesses and calculations, so as to exhibit behavior corresponding tothe inputted operation commands.

The hardware structure described above makes possible the processes andfunctions of this embodiment.

The structure of the terminal device 10 may have more variety, and neednot be limited to that of FIG. 4. For example, the terminal device 10may include interfaces, which use such a communication method as the USB(Universal Serial Bus), the IEEE1394, the Bluetooth, for communicationwith peripheral devices. The terminal device 10 therefore can store notonly the audio contents that are downloaded by the network interface 23via the network 30, but also the audio contents that are transferred viasuch interfaces as the USB, the IEEE1394, to the HDD 21. The terminaldevice 10 also may include end terminals, such as a terminal formicrophones, a terminal for connection with external headphones, a videooutput terminal used for the DVD reproduction, a line connectionterminal, an optical digital connection terminal, and the like. Also,the terminal device 10 may include slots, such as the PCMCIA slot, thememory card slot, and the like, for exchanging data with an externalinformation-processing device or an external audio device.

The structure of program modules of the system of this embodiment willbe described. The program modules are data in which the processesexecuted by the terminal device 10 are described. The program modulesenable the terminal device 10 to perform prescribed functions.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the program modules of theterminal device.

As shown in FIG. 5, the program modules of the terminal device 10operate on OS (Operating System). The terminal device 10 is able tointeract with various servers, such as a CD title information provisionserver 31, a broadcast station server 32, a music distribution server33, a CD shop server 34, a comprehensive service server 35 for providingcomprehensive services, and an Internet radio server 36, by usingfunctions of the program modules.

A HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) message program 111 interacts withvarious servers, such as the CD title information provision server 31,the broadcast station server 32, the CD shop server 34, and thecomprehensive service server 35, in the HTTP communication. Acommunicator program 112 can variously communicates with thecomprehensive service server 35 and the like.

A content reproduction module 113 for reproducing contents based on theinterpretation of the codec of the content, and a copyright protectioninformation management module 114 for dealing with information regardingthe copyright protection, are disposed above the communicator program112, where is close to a user interface. An Internet radio channelselection/reproduction module 118 for selecting an Internet radio andplaying back the Internet radio is disposed above the contentreproduction module 113. A music purchase/reproduction module 119 forcontrolling the purchase of music and the playback of demo-music isdisposed above the copyright protection information management module114.

A XML (extensible Markup Language) browser 151 is disposed above theInternet radio channel selection/reproduction module 118 and the musicpurchase/reproduction module 119. The XML browser 151 interprets the XMLfiles that are transmitted from various servers, and displays them onthe display unit 17. Also, the XML browser 151 interprets contents thatare input by a user operation of the terminal device 10, when theterminal device 10 remains in a comprehensive service utilization mode.And the XML browser 151 sends a processing request or the likecorresponding to the inputted contents to the other modules. Forexample, the music purchase/reproduction module 119 purchases music thatwas designated by the user via the XML browser 151. The purchased musicis then stored in the HDD 21 via a hard disk content controller 117.

The communicator program 112 connects with an authentication library 131of a library 130. The authentication library 131 authenticates variousservers such as the comprehensive service server 35.

A database access module 115, a content data access module 116 and thehard disk content controller 117 are disposed above the communicatorprogram 112. The database access module 115 accesses various databasesin the HDD 21. The content-data access module 116 accesses contentsstored in the HDD 21. The hard disk content controller 117 manages thecontents stored in the HDD 21.

An associated information display module 120, a tunerselection/reproduction/recording module 121, and the musicpurchase/reproduction module 119 are disposed above the hard diskcontent controller 117. The associated information display module 120displays a music name and artist name corresponding to music broadcastby a radio station on the display unit 17. The tunerselection/reproduction/recording module 121 selects a radio channel, andrecords music content received form the radio station on the HDD 21, andthe like.

For example, music received from the radio station to which the usertuned in via an audio user interface 152 is recorded on HDD 21 via thecontent data access module 116.

The associated information display module 120 receives the associatedinformation (such as an artist name and music name that correspond tomusic broadcast by the radio station selected by the tunerselection/reproduction/recording module 121) from the CD titleinformation provision server 31 or the broadcast station server 32 orthe like via the HTTP message program 111. And the associatedinformation display module 120 displays it on the display unit 17 viathe audio user interface 152.

The associated information to be displayed on the display unit 17 viathe audio user interface 152 may be temporarily stored in a clip library132 of the library 130. The associated information may be finally storedin the HDD 21 via the database access module 115 upon user instruction.

In addition, the program modules of the terminal device 10 include a CDreproduction module 141 for playing back CDs, and a HDD reproductionmodule 142 for playing back the HDD 21. The CD reproduction module 141and the HDD reproduction module 142 output the playback results via theaudio data processing section 24 and the speaker 25 in order.

The terminal device 10 described above can receive the associatedinformation from the servers and clip it. At the same time as clipping,the terminal device 10 can also search for music and purchase it.

The following is the description of a process in which, the terminaldevice 10 receives the broadcast signal from one of a plurality of theregistered broadcast stations and reproduces it, and receives theassociated information of the broadcast stations and displays it.

A registration process of each broadcast station for the terminal device10 will be described. In the registration (preset) of each broadcaststation, the terminal device 10 memorizes the name of each broadcaststation, with the frequency of broadcast signals of each broadcaststation and unique call sign of each broadcast station. In this case,the terminal device 10 determines available broadcast stations (fromwhich the terminal device 10 can receive broadcast signals) based on thearea where the terminal device 10 is used. The frequency andcorresponding call sign of each available broadcast station areregistered together with the terminal device 10. The area, thefrequency, and the call sign are determined by using a geo targetingtable and a broadcast station targeting table shown in FIG. 6 and FIG.7, for example.

FIG. 6 is an example of the geo targeting table.

The geo targeting table shown in FIG. 6 connects each region (a majordivision and a small division) with a corresponding postal code number.The terminal device 10 can therefore specify the region where thisterminal device 10 is used based on the postal code number data. Thistable could be the other structure in which the terminal device 10 canspecify the region where this terminal device 10 is used based ontelephone numbers, addresses or the like.

FIG. 7 is an example of the broadcast station targeting table.

The broadcast station targeting table shown in FIG. 7 shows therelationship between broadcast station names, frequencies, and callsigns. They are classified into each region. After specifying the regionwhere the terminal device 10 is used based on the geo targeting tableshown in FIG. 6, the terminal device 10 can specify the availablebroadcast stations of the specified region based on the broadcaststation targeting table shown in FIG. 7.

The comprehensive service server 35 usually memorizes the geo targetingtable and the broadcast station targeting table. In such case, thecomprehensive service server 35 performs search of the region andbroadcast stations in response to a request from the terminal device 10,and transmits the search results to the terminal device 10.Alternatively, the terminal device 10 can memorizes the geo targetingtable and the broadcast station targeting table in advance.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the overall flow of thebroadcast station registration.

The terminal device 10 detects the frequencies of the broadcast signalsavailable in the region where the terminal device 10 is used by using atypical auto tuning function (step S1).

The comprehensive service server 35 then checks whether or not aregistration was done (step S2). In this case, this registration allowsthe terminal device 10 to receive the associated information (thenow-on-air information, for example) supplied from the broadcaststation.

In this system, the completion of the registration makes it possible toreceive the broadcast and acquire the now-on-air information. Thecomprehensive service server 35 manages the registered information,which includes regional information such as the address, postal codenumber, and telephone number of the location where the terminal device10 is used. After the completion of the registration, Identificationinformation such as a unique ID, password and the like that representsthe completion of the registration is given to the terminal device 10.At step S2, the comprehensive service server 35 checks whether or notthe terminal device 10 has been registered based on the identificationinformation.

At step S2, when recognizing that the terminal device 10 has beenregistered, the comprehensive service server 35 specify the region wherethe terminal device 10 is used by using the registered information andthe geo targeting table shown in FIG. 6 (step S3).

The comprehensive service server 35 then specifies the broadcaststation, based on the specified region, the frequencies obtained by theterminal device's auto tuning, and the broadcast station targeting tableshown in FIG. 7. And the comprehensive service server 35 connects itwith its frequency and call sign (step S4). The frequency, the broadcaststation name, and the call sign are transferred to the terminal device10.

If the terminal device 10 has the geo targeting table and the broadcaststation targeting table, the processing of specifying the region at stepS3 and specifying the broadcast station at step S4 is done at theterminal device 10 after the authentication of step S2 is done at thecomprehensive service server 35.

After step S4, the terminal device 10 checks whether or not to haveconnected every available frequency, which was obtained by auto tuning,with the broadcast station (step S5). If the every available frequencywas connected with the broadcast station, the registration process ofbroadcast stations ends. The frequency, the broadcast name, and the callsign are stored in the terminal device 10.

At step S2, when recognizing that the registration, which allows theterminal device 10 to receive the now-on-air information, was not done,the comprehensive service server 35 specifies the region where theterminal device 10 is used by using the geo targeting table and regionalinformation input by the user via the terminal device 10 (step S6), andthen proceeds to step S4.

At step S5, when recognizing that the every available frequency, whichwas obtained by auto tuning, was not connected with the broadcaststation, the terminal device 10 proceeds to next step S7 and thefollowing. This case might be caused by the situation in which, thefrequency that was obtained by auto tuning is not the frequency that wasusually received in the region where this terminal device 10 is used, orthis terminal device 10 is receiving the broadcast signal through acable television system, or the like.

When recognizing that the every available frequency was not connectedwith the broadcast station, the terminal device 10 displays the list ofall broadcast stations that exist in this region (a broadcast stationlist of this region) by using the registered or inputted regionalinformation (step S7). In this case, the terminal device 10 alsoprepares to show the list of broadcast stations that are usually notavailable in this region (a broadcast station list of other region), todeal with the frequencies of the broadcast stations that are notavailable in this region. For example, the broadcast station list ofother region shows listed information, like the regional broadcaststation list shown in the major division of the geo targeting table, ornational broadcast station lists, or the like. Information that isnecessary to display the broadcast station list of this region and thebroadcast station list of other region is pre-stored in thecomprehensive service server 35 or the terminal device 10.

If the user selects a broadcast station from the broadcast station listof this region for the frequency that has not been connected with thebroadcast station (step S8), the terminal device 10 connects theselected broadcast station with the frequency and also connects it withthe call sign by using the broadcast station targeting table (step S9).On the other hand, when the user does not select a broadcast stationfrom the broadcast station list of this region at step S8, the terminaldevice 10 displays the broadcast station list of other region (stepS10). And the terminal device 10 proceeds to step S9, when the userselects a broadcast station from the broadcast station list of otherregion.

The terminal device 10 repeats the process of step S7 through S10 untilevery frequency that the terminal device 10 can receive is connectedwith broadcast stations.

As described above, the terminal device 10 makes the connection betweenthe frequency, the broadcast name, and the call sign, and stores themtogether, by using the tables shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. Even if thebroadcast name is changed by the user, for example, the connectionbetween the frequency, the broadcast name, and the call sign allows theterminal device 10 to acquire the now-on-air information by using theconnected call sign. And also, even if some different broadcast stationshave the same frequency, the terminal device 10 can specify eachbroadcast station by the call sign, and acquire the now-on-airinformation of the specified broadcast station.

In addition, if frequencies of broadcast stations (such as a communityFM) that are not listed in the broadcast station list of this region andof other region exist, the user of the terminal device 10 can manuallyinput the broadcast station name for this frequency. In this case, thecall sign of the broadcast station might not be connected with thefrequency. But it is usually enough for the user only to listen to thebroadcast of the broadcast station, because this kind of broadcaststation often does not provide the now-on-air information. The terminaldevice 10 can receive and reproduce broadcast signals even if theterminal device 10 is not registered.

As described-above, the registration of frequencies, broadcast stationnames, and call signs with the terminal device 10 allows the user of theterminal device 10 to receive the broadcast signals of the registeredfrequencies and reproduce them. Thereby, the user of the terminal device10 can listen to the broadcasts. The terminal device 10 also can obtainthe associated information such as the now-on-air information of eachbroadcast station by using the call sign, while receiving the broadcastsignal. This terminal device 10 can obtain not only the associatedinformation of the broadcast station from which the terminal device 10is receiving the broadcast signal, but also the associated informationof the broadcast station from which the terminal device 10 is notreceiving the broadcast signal.

FIG. 9 shows an example of displaying the associated information of thebroadcast station from which the terminal device 10 is receiving thebroadcast signal. FIG. 10 shows an example of displaying the associatedinformation of the broadcast station from which the terminal device 10is not receiving the broadcast signal.

As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the display unit 17 of the terminaldevice 10 has a large screen 50. The screen 50 has a now-on-airinformation display area 51 for displaying the now-on-air information ofthe broadcast station, and a broadcast station list display area 52 fordisplaying the list of the registered broadcast station from which theterminal device 10 can receive the broadcast signal.

The broadcast station list display area 52 shows the list of broadcaststations (7 broadcast stations A through G, for example). The frequency,broadcast station name, and call sign thereof were registered togetherwith the terminal device 10 by presetting. The terminal device 10displays a mark 52 a for the broadcast station from which the terminaldevice 10 receives the broadcast signal. In the example as shown in FIG.9 and FIG. 10, it is seen that the terminal device 10 is receiving thebroadcast signal of the broadcast station B.

When the terminal device 10 transmits the request information thatincludes the call sign of the broadcast station B to request thenow-on-air information, the broadcast station server of the broadcaststation B transmits the now-on-air information of the broadcast stationB in response to the request information. The terminal device 10receives the now-on-air information and displays it on the now-on-airinformation display area 51.

At this time, the now-on-air information display area 51 displays “NowOn Air” (indicated by the reference numeral 51 a) in a large way andboldface as shown in FIG. 9. Whereas the now-on-air information displayarea 51 displays “Now On Air” (indicated by the reference numeral 51 a)in a small way and fine writing as shown in FIG. 10, if the terminaldevice 10 requests, receives, and displays the now-on-air information ofthe broadcast station other than the broadcast station B from which theterminal device 10 is receiving broadcast signals (for example, it isthe situation where the terminal device 10 receives the now-on-airinformation of the broadcast station C while receiving the broadcastsignal of the broadcast station B).

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the flow in which theterminal device performs a broadcast signal receive/reproduce processand an associated information acquisition process.

In the terminal device 10, the user operates the remote control 40 tomove a focus so that the nth broadcast station in the broadcast stationlist is being focused. As a result, the nth broadcast station isselected to display its now-on-air information (step S20).

When the nth broadcast station is selected, the terminal device 10transmits the request information that includes the call sign of thisbroadcast station to request the now-on-air information (step S21). Andthe terminal device 10 receives the now-on-air information correspondingto the request information (step S22). And then, the terminal device 10displays the received now-on-air information on the now-on-airinformation display area 51 (step S23). The terminal device 10 continuesto display the now-on-air information of the selected broadcast stationuntil the focus in the broadcast station list is changed.

The terminal device 10 checks whether or not the terminal device 10accepts the user's instruction that instructs the terminal device 10 toreceive the broadcast signal of the broadcast station displayed on thenow-on-air information display area 51 (step S24). If the terminaldevice 10 accepts the user's instruction that instructs the terminaldevice 10 to receive the broadcast signal of the nth broadcast station,the terminal device 10 receives the broadcast signal of the nthbroadcast station (step S25), and reproduce it (step S26), and displaysthe mark 52 a for the nth broadcast station in the broadcast stationlist display area 52 (step SP27). The selection of the broadcast stationto receive the broadcast signal is done by the appropriate operation inwhich, the user moves the focus to the now-on-air information displayarea and pushes the decision key by using the remote control 40 and thelike, or the user selects a broadcast receiving item from a tool menu,or the like.

And the terminal device 10 checks whether or not a certain period oftime (30 seconds, for example) has passed after the terminal device 10started to display the now-on-air information of the nth broadcaststation of the broadcast station list (step S28). When 30 seconds havepassed, the terminal device 10 updates the now-on-air information of theselected nth broadcast station (step S29), and then returns to step S20.

At step S20, if the nth broadcast station is not selected, the terminaldevice 10 proceeds to step S24. At step S24, if the terminal device 10does not accept the user's instruction that instructs the terminaldevice 10 to receive the broadcast signal, the terminal device 10proceeds to step S28. At step S28, when recognizing that 30 seconds havenot passed yet, the terminal device 10 returns to step S20.

As described above, the terminal device 10 switches the displayednow-on-air information to that of the other broadcast station inresponse to the user's selection of the broadcast station from thebroadcast station list. When the user wants to receive the broadcastsignal of the displayed broadcast station, the user selects thisdisplayed broadcast station by the prescribed operation. Thereby, theterminal device 10 receives and reproduces its broadcast signal.

And also, it is possible to automatically switch the displayednow-on-air information.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the flow in which theterminal device performs a broadcast signal receive/reproduce processand an associated information acquisition process. In the followingdescription, the broadcast station list includes 7 broadcast stationslike the example shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10.

The user sets up the terminal device 10 to run its tuner function andmoves the focus and pushes the decision key by using the remote control40 or the like. Therefore, the focused broadcast station, that is tosay, the nth (n=1 through 7) broadcast station from the top of thebroadcast station list is selected (step S30). The terminal device 10 inresponse to the selection of-the broadcast station chooses the frequencyof this broadcast station from registered information as its receiverfrequency to receive the broadcast signal of this broadcast station(step S31), and reproduces the received broadcast signal (step S32). Atthis time, the terminal device 10 displays a mark 52 a for the nthbroadcast station in the broadcast station list display area 52 (stepS33).

In addition, the terminal device 10 transmits the request informationthat includes the call sign of the nth broadcast station selected bymoving the focus to request the now-on-air information (step S34). Andthen, the terminal device 10 receives the now-on-air informationcorresponding to the request information (step S35), and displays thereceived now-on-air information on the now-on-air information displayarea 51 (step S36). In this case, “Now On Air” (indicated by thereference numeral 51 a) is displayed in a large way and boldface.

And the terminal device 10 checks whether or not a certain period oftime (30 seconds, for example) has passed after the terminal device 10started to display the now-on-air information of the nth broadcaststation (step S37). At this step S37, the terminal device 10 continuesto display this now-on-air information on the now-on-air informationdisplay area 51 until recognizing the 30 seconds have passed.

At step 37, if the terminal device 10 recognizes that 30 seconds havepassed, the terminal device 10 checks whether or not the broadcaststation that is now providing the now-on-air information to be displayedis listed at the end of the broadcast station list, which is to say thebroadcast station that is now providing the now-on-air information to bedisplayed is the broadcast station G (n=7) in the example of FIG. 9 andFIG. 10 (step S38).

At step 38, if the terminal device 10 recognizes that the broadcaststation is not the broadcast station G (n=7), the terminal device 10automatically selects the n+1th broadcast station from the top of thebroadcast station list (step S39). Whereas if the terminal device 10recognizes that the broadcast station is the broadcast station G (n=7),the terminal device 10 automatically selects the broadcast station A(n=1), which is at the top of the broadcast station list (step S40).

If the terminal device 10 selects the n+1th broadcast station from thetop of the broadcast station list at step S39, the terminal device 10returns to step S34 (n=n+1 or 1) and repeats the following steps. And ifthe terminal device 10 selects the 1st broadcast station A of thebroadcast station list at step 40, the terminal device 10 also returnsto step S34 (n=n+1 or 1) and repeats the following steps.

The process described above allows the terminal device 10 tosequentially display now-on-air information (for example, a broadcaststation name, a music name and artist name of the broadcasted music, aprogram name, a broadcast time, and the like) of each broadcast stationin the broadcast station list on the now-on-air information display area51 at a certain interval of time, while receiving the broadcast signalof a certain broadcast station.

When the user of the terminal device 10 finds interesting now-on-airinformation during watching the now-on-air information beingsequentially displayed on the now-on-air information display area 51,the user can make the terminal device 10 receive and reproduce thebroadcast signal of the broadcast station that provides the interestingnow-on-air information by doing the operation in which the user forciblymoves the focus of the broadcast station list to this broadcast stationand selects it by using the remote control 40 or the like. The terminaldevice 10 does the same process as that of FIG. 12, even after itsreceiver frequency is changed.

In the above description, the associated information such as now-on-airinformation of each broadcast station is sequentially displayed on justone place, which is the now-on-air information display area 51 disposedon the screen. But it is also possible to display the associatedinformation of every broadcast station on the screen 50 at once.

FIG. 13 shows an example of displaying the associated information ofevery broadcast station at once.

In this example shown in FIG. 13, the screen 50 has a now-on-airinformation display area 51 and a broadcast station list display area 52as well as that of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. This broadcast station list area52 has small and belt-shaped areas. They are now-on-air informationdisplay areas 51 b for displaying the now-on-air information of eachbroadcast station A through G.

The process described in FIG. 12 sequentially displays the now-on-airinformation on the now-on-air information display area 51. The smallnow-on-air information display areas 51 b, which correspond to eachbroadcast station, show the whole or part of the now-on-air information(for example, a music name and an artist name as shown in FIG. 13), whenthe process described in FIG. 12 receives the now-on-air information tobe displayed on the now-on-air information display area 51. And thesmall now-on-air information display areas 51 b continue to display thepart of the now-on-air information until receiving the next now-on-airinformation of these broadcast stations.

The displaying of now-on-air information of each broadcast station-inthis manner allows the user to read the now-on-air information of allregistered broadcast stations on the screen 50 at once. It is alsopossible to sequentially change the displayed information on-thenow-on-air information display areas 51 b that correspond to eachbroadcast station, while displaying the now-on-air information of eitherthe broadcast station from which the terminal device 10 is receiving thebroadcast signal or the broadcast station selected by the user on thenow-on-air information display area 51.

Also, it is possible to repeatedly perform a process at a certaininterval of time in which, the terminal device 10 transmits the requestinformation that includes the call signs of every broadcast station andreceives the now-on-air information corresponding to them and displaysit.

The number of the registered broadcast stations in the broadcast stationlist is not limited to that of the described example.

As described above, the user can clip the now-on-air informationdisplayed on the now-on-air information display area 51 by moving acursor or the like and selecting it by using the remote control 40 orthe like.

The clipped information is utilized for searching for music, purchasingaudio data, purchasing CDs and DVDs, or the like, when the terminaldevice 10 accesses the CD title information provision server 31, themusic distribution server 33, the CD shop server 34, or the like.

The programs that the CPU 11 of the terminal device 10 executes makepossible the processes and functions described above. The programs, forexample, are stored in the HDD 22 or the ROM 13.

Alternatively, the programs may be permanently or temporarily stored ina removable storage medium, such as flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a MO(Magneto-Optical) disk, a DVD, a Magnetic Disk, a semiconductor memory.The storing of the programs in these removable media makes it possibleto provide the programs as packaged software.

In this embodiment, for example, the storing of the programs in themedium that the media drives 19 a, 19 b support makes it possible toprovide the programs as packaged software. Thereby, the terminal device10 can read the programs from the medium by controlling the media drives19 a, 19 b, and install them on the HDD 21 or the ROM 13. The packagedsoftware also makes it possible to install the programs to which thisinvention is applied on a general-purpose personal computer.

Except for installing from the removable storage media as describedabove, it is also possible to download from servers or the like thatmemorizes the programs via a network such as LAN (Local Area Network),the Internet.

Also, it is possible to make the updated program that has additionalprocesses and functions to which this invention is applied, and deliverthe updated program as packaged software or distribute it via thenetwork. In this case, when the user obtains the updated program, theuser can install it on the computer on which the former version of theprogram has been installed.

An example of a service system in which one of a plurality of serversprovides the now-on-air information of broadcast stations will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 14 through FIG. 26. A musicrelated service provision system 1000 shown in FIG. 14 has a singlesign-on function. The reproduction apparatus 1 (terminal device 10)described above corresponds to a client terminal 1002. The broadcaststation servers 32 aa, 32 ba described above correspond to a radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006. The network 30 describedabove corresponds to a network NT1000.

(1) Music Related Service Provision System

(1-1) System Configuration

Referring to FIG. 14, the reference numeral 1000 denotes a music relatedservice provision system as a whole. The system 1000 comprises a clientterminal 1002 and a plurality of service servers. The client terminal1002 belongs to a user who makes a contract with a service provider ofthe music related service provision system 1000. The service serversinclude: a portal server 1003 to manage the client terminal 1002; andthe other servers 1004 through 1008 to provide the client terminal 1002with various services related to the music.

According to this embodiment, the music data delivery server 1004provides music data delivery services to deliver music data as contentdata to the client terminal 1002. The content data complies with suchformats as ATRAC3 (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding 3), AAC (AdvancedAudio Coding), WMA (Windows Media Audio), RealAUDIO G2 Music Codec, andMP3 (MPEG Audio Layer-3).

A trade server 1005 provides trade services to sell CD (Compact Disc),DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and the like to the user via the clientterminal 1002.

Further, the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 providesradio broadcast information delivery services to deliver radio broadcastinformation to the client terminal 1002. Specifically, the radiobroadcast information includes radio programs, music, and the likebroadcast from a radio station.

The Internet radio server 1007 provides Internet radio broadcastservices to broadcast radio broadcast data to the client terminal 1002via the network NT1000 equivalent to the Internet. The radio broadcastdata is delivered in streaming format.

In addition, a charging server 1008 performs a charging process tocharge users for various fees in response to requests from the portalserver 1003 and the like.

(1-2) Configuration of Client Terminal 1002

(1-2-1) Functional circuit block configuration of Client Terminal 1002

The following describes the hardware configuration of the clientterminal 1002 using functional circuit blocks. As shown in FIG. 15, theclient terminal 1002 has an operation input section 1020 comprisingvarious operation buttons provided on the surface of the client terminalcabinet or a remote controller (not shown). When a user operates theoperation input section 1020, it detects the user operation and sends aninput operation signal corresponding to the operation to an inputprocessing section 1021.

The input processing section 1021 is supplied with the input operationsignal from the operation input section 1020, converts the signal into aspecific operation command, and sends it to a control section 1023 via abus 1022.

The control section 1023 is supplied with operation commands and controlsignals from circuits connected to the bus 1022. Based on theseoperation commands and control signals, the control section 1023controls operations of these circuits.

A display control section 1024 is supplied with video data via the bus1022 and applies digital-analog conversion to the video data to generatean analog video signal. The display control section 1024 sends theresulting analog video signal to a display section 1025.

The display section 1025 represents a display device such as a liquidcrystal display and may be directly attached to the surface of the mainunit cabinet or may be externally connected.

The display section 1025 is supplied with processing results from thecontrol section 1023 and various video data as an analog video signalvia the display control section 1024. The display section 1025 displaysa video based on the analog video signal.

An audio control section 1026 applies digital-analog conversion to audiodata supplied via the bus 1022 and sends a resulting analog audio signalto a speaker 1027. The speaker 1027 outputs audio based on the analogaudio signal supplied from the audio control section 1026.

An external recording media recording and reproducing section 1028 readsand reproduces content data from external recording media such as CDsand Memory Stick (registered trademark), and records targeted contentdata on the external recording media. Memory Stick comprises flashmemory enclosed in a packaging case.

The external recording media recording and reproducing section 1028reads video data as content data from an external recording medium andsupplies the read video data to the display control section 1024 via thebus 1022.

The display control section 1024 is supplied with the video data read ascontent data from the external recording medium by the externalrecording media recording and reproducing section 1028. The displaycontrol section 1024 then converts the video data into an analog videosignal and sends it to the display section 1025.

The external recording media recording and reproducing section 1028reads audio data as content data from the external recording medium andsupplies the read audio data to the audio control section 1026 via thebus 1022.

When the external recording media recording and reproducing section 1028reads audio data as content data from the external recording medium, theaudio control section 1026 converts the audio data into an analog audiosignal and supplies it to the speaker 1027.

When the external recording media recording and reproducing section 1028reads the content data from the external recording medium, the controlsection 1023 sends that content data to a storage medium 1029 in theclient terminal 1002 via the bus 1022. The control section 1023 canstore the content data in the storage medium 1029. Storing content datain the storage medium 1029 is also referred to as ripping.

When reading video data such as image data as content data from thestorage medium 1029, the control section 1023 supplies the read videodata to the display control section 1024 via the bus 1022.

When reading audio data as content data from the storage medium 1029,the control section 1023 supplies the read audio data to the audiocontrol section 1026 via the bus 1022.

In addition, the control section 1023 can read music data from thestorage medium 1029 and transfers it to the external recording mediarecording and reproducing section 1028 which can then record the musicdata on the external recording medium.

A broadcast signal reception section 1030 receives radio broadcastingwaves transmitted from radio stations and supplies them to the tunersection 1031.

As mentioned above, the broadcast signal reception section 1030 receivesradio broadcasting waves. Under the control of the control section 1023,the tuner section 1031 extracts such radio broadcasting signals from thereceived radio broadcasting waves as to have a broadcasting frequencycorresponding to the radio station specified by the operation inputsection 1020, for example. The tuner section 1031 then applies specifiedreception processing to the extracted signals. The tuner section 1031sends resulting audio data to the audio control section 1026 via the bus1022.

The audio control section 1026 converts the audio data supplied from thetuner section 1031 into an analog audio signal and sends this signal tothe speaker 1027. The speaker 1027 outputs the audio of the radioprogram broadcast from the radio station. In this manner, the user canlisten to the radio program's audio.

The control section 1023 can record audio of radio programs. To do this,the control section 1023 sends audio data acquired by the tuner section1031 to the storage medium 1029 for storage.

Further, the control section. 1023 can connect to a network NT1000 via acommunication control section 1032 and a network interface 1033 inorder. Consequently, the control section 1023 can access the portalserver 1003, and the other servers 1004 through 1007 on the networkNT1000. In this manner, the client terminal can interchange variousinformation and data with the portal server 1003, and the other servers1004 through 1007, and the like.

Compressed and encoded content data is received from the network NT1000via the network interface 1033 and the communication control section1032 in order. Alternatively, compressed and encoded content data isread from the storage medium 1029 and external recording media. Anencoder/decoder section 1034 decodes such content data and sends it tothe display control section 1024 or the audio control section 1026.

Further, the encoder/decoder section 1034 compresses and encodes neithercompressed nor encoded content data read from external recording mediaor audio data supplied from the tuner section 1031. The encoder/decodersection 1034 sends the compressed and encoded content data to thestorage medium 1029.

Under the control of the control section 1023, content data iscompressed and encoded in the encoder/decoder section 1034 and is storedin the storage medium 1029.

A copyright management section 1035 generates copyright managementinformation corresponding to content data that is downloaded from thenetwork NT1000 via the network interface 1033 and the communicationcontrol section 1032 in order or is read from external recording mediaby the external recording media recording and reproducing section 1028.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the copyright managementinformation generated in the copyright management section 1035 isassociated with the content data and is registered to the recordingmedium 1029.

The copyright management section 1035 is used to check out content dataassociated with the copyright management information from the storagemedium 1029 to a specific external recording medium and to check in thecontent data associated with the copyright management information fromthe specific external recording medium to the storage medium 1029. Thecopyright management section 1035 appropriately updates contents of thecopyright management information corresponding to the content data toprotect the copyright of the content data.

The client terminal receives XML (extensible Markup Language) or HTML(Hyper Text Markup Language) files from the network NT1000 via thenetwork interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 inorder. A page information generation section 1036 interprets pageinformation of these files and generates video data to be displayed onthe display section 1025. The page information generation section 1036then sends the generated video data to the display control section 1024.

An authentication processing section 1037 performs authenticationprocesses such as sending authentication information to the portalserver 1003 and the other servers 1004 through 1007 on the networkNT1000 connected via the network interface 1033, via the communicationcontrol section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in order.

An authentication information storage section 1038 stores authenticationinformation needed for the authentication processing section 1037 toaccess the portal server 1003, the other servers 1004 through 1007, andthe like.

A radio broadcasting display control section 1039 sends a request signalto the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 via thecommunication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 inorder. This request signal is used to request information about theradio broadcast currently received by the user for listening. The radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006 corresponds to the radiostation that carries the radio broadcast being received.

As a result, the radio broadcasting display control section 1039receives the radio broadcast information received from the radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006 on the network NT1000 via thenetwork interface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 inorder. In addition, the radio broadcasting display control section 1039sends the received radio broadcast information to the display controlsection 1024. This allows the display section 1025 to display the radiobroadcast information comprising a name of the currently received radioprogram, a title and an artist name of the currently received music, andthe like.

(1-2-2) Directory Management

The control-section 1023 of the client terminal 1002 manages the contentdata to be stored in the storage medium 1029 based on the structure ofdirectory as shown in FIG. 16. Some number of “folder” directories canbe created within a specified range under a “root” directory. Forexample, the “folder” directory is created to correspond to a genre ofcontents, an owner user, or the like.

Some number of “album” directories can be created within a specifiedrange under the “folder” directories. For example, each “album”directory corresponds to an album title. One or more “track” files arestored under the “album” directory, so as to belong to this directory.The “track” file corresponds to a piece of music, or a piece of content.The directory management of content data is controlled by database filesstored in the storage medium 1029.

(1-3) Functional Circuit Block Configuration of Portal Server 1003

With reference to FIG. 17, the following describes the hardwareconfiguration of the portal server 1003 using functional circuit blocks.A control section 1050 in the portal server 1003 controls operations ofcircuits connected via a bus 1051.

Under the control of the control section 1050, a communication controlsection 1052 interchanges various information with the client terminal1002, the other servers 1004 through 1008, and the like via a networkinterface 1053.

A customer database section 1054 registers customer informationcomprising user ID (identification) information and associated passwordinformation of a user who has completed a, contract with a serviceprovider of a music related service provision system 1000.

A page information storage section 1055 stores page information and thelike managed by the music related service provision system's serviceprovider.

The page information is written in languages such as XML and includesURL (Uniform Resource Locator) information to access a music datadelivery server 1004, a trade server 1005, a video broadcast informationdelivery server 1006, an Internet radio server 1007 and the like.

An authentication processing section 1056 receives the user IDinformation and the password information sent from the client terminal1002 via the network interface 1053 and the communication controlsection 1052 in order. The authentication processing section 1056 thenperforms a user authentication process to confirm whether or not thecustomer database section 1054 stores the received user ID informationand password information as the customer information.

Upon completion of the user authentication process, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 issues portal authentication result information(authentication session ID information to be described later) indicatingthe result of the user authentication process. The authenticationprocessing section 1056 temporarily stores the issued portalauthentication result information in the authentication informationstorage section 1057.

Let us assume that the user is authenticated to be a registered user asa result of the user authentication process by the authenticationprocessing section 1056. In this case, the control section 1050 sendspage information about a contractor page stored in the page informationstorage section 1055 as well as the portal authentication resultinformation to the client terminal 1002 via the communication controlsection 1052 and the network interface 1053 in order.

Next, let us assume that the user is not authenticated to be aregistered user as a result of the user authentication process by theauthentication processing section 1056. In this case, the controlsection 1050 may be configured to send authentication error informationas well as unsuccessful authentication notification page informationindicating the unsuccessful authentication to the client terminal 1002via the communication control section 1052 and the network interface1053 in order. The unsuccessful authentication notification pageinformation is stored in the page information storage section 1055.

As a result of performing authentication processes for the user from themusic data delivery server 1004, the trade server 1005, the radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006 and the like, theauthentication processing section 1056 receives portal authenticationresult information (authentication ticket to be described later) via thenetwork interface 1053 and the communication control section 1052 inorder. The portal authentication result information is acquired and sentfrom the user's client terminal 1002. Then, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 compares the received portal authenticationresult information with the portal authentication result informationthat is temporarily stored in the authentication information storagesection 1057 corresponding to the user.

The authentication processing section 1056 performs a confirmationprocess, as an authentication process for the portal authenticationresult information received from the music data delivery server 1004,the trade server 1005, the radio broadcast information delivery server1006 and the like. Specifically, the authentication processing section1056 confirms whether or not the portal authentication resultinformation is authenticated. The authentication processing section 1056then returns confirmation result information indicating a confirmationresult to the music data delivery server 1004, the trade server 1005,the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 and the like viathe communication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 inorder.

A frequency information storage section 1058 stores the followingassociated with each other: an area code such as a postal guide numbercapable of specifying an area; frequency information indicatingbroadcast frequencies for radio broadcasts receivable in the areaindicated by the area code; a name of the radio station (hereafterreferred to as a radio station name) that broadcasts the radiobroadcast; and the call sign that is identification information uniqueto each radio station.

A URL storage section 1059 stores the following associated with eachother: a call sign for radio broadcast corresponding to each radiostation; and URL information capable of acquiring radio broadcastinformation (hereafter referred to specifically as now-on-airinformation). This information concerns a currently broadcast radioprogram provided by the radio station corresponding to the call sign andcomprises a name of the radio program, a title of the music currentlybroadcast in the radio program, and the like.

(1-4) Functional Circuit Block Configuration of Music Data DeliveryServer 1004

Referring now to FIG. 18, the following describes the hardwareconfiguration of the music data delivery server 1004 using functionalcircuit blocks. A control section 1070 in the music data delivery server1004 controls operations of circuits connected via a bus 1071.

Under control of the control section 1070, a communication controlsection 1072 interchanges various information and data such as contentdata with the client terminal 1002, the portal server 1003, and the likevia a network interface 1073.

A customer database section 1074 stores customer information comprisinga corresponding combination of user ID information and passwordinformation about users who have completed contracts with a serviceprovider of the music data delivery server 1004. An authenticationprocessing section 1075 may have a function to authenticate users basedon portal authentication result information that is issued by the portalserver 1003 and is transmitted from the client terminal 1002. In suchcase, the customer database section 1074 may be omitted.

A page information storage section 1076 stores information such as pageinformation about music data delivery pages for presenting downloadablemusic data. The music data delivery server 1004 manages thisinformation.

The page information about music data delivery pages is written inlanguages such as XML. This enables a user of the client terminal 1002to select intended music data to be downloaded.

The control section 1070 receives a page information acquisition requestsignal transmitted from the client terminal 1002 via the networkinterface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 in order. Thepage information acquisition request signal requests page informationabout music data delivery pages. According to the received pageinformation acquisition request signal, the control section 1070transmits the page information about music data delivery pages to theclient terminal 1002 via the communication control section 1072 and thenetwork interface 1073 in order. The page information about music datadelivery pages is stored in the page information storage section 1076.

The authentication processing section 1075 receives the user IDinformation and the password information about the user of the clientterminal 1002 from it via the network interface 1073 and thecommunication control section 1072 in order. The authenticationprocessing section 1075 then performs a user authentication process toconfirm whether or not the customer database section 1074 stores thereceived user ID information and password information as the customerinformation.

Further, the authentication processing section 1075 uses a userauthentication technique that differs from the user authenticationprocess using the user ID information and the password information. Thatis to say, the authentication processing section 1075 receives portalauthentication result information (authentication ticket to be describedlater) that is issued by the portal server 1003 and is transmitted fromthe client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1073 and thecommunication control section 1072 in order. The authenticationprocessing section 1075 then transmits the received portalauthentication result information to the portal server 1003 via thecommunication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 inorder.

In response to the portal authentication result information transmittedto the portal server 1003, the authentication processing section 1075receives confirmation result information via the network interface 1073and the communication control section 1072 in order. The confirmationresult information is returned from the portal server 1003 as a resultof applying the authentication process (i.e., the above-mentionedconfirmation process) to the portal authentication result information.Based on the received confirmation result information, theauthentication processing section 1075 confirms whether or not the useris a registered user who completed a contract with the service providerof the music related service provision system 1000.

Upon completion of the user authentication process, the authenticationprocessing section 1075 issues the server authentication resultinformation (service session ID information to be described later)indicating the result of the user authentication process.

Let us assume that the user is authenticated to be a registered user asa result of the user authentication process by the authenticationprocessing section 1075. In this case, the control section 1070transmits page information as well as the server authentication resultinformation to the client terminal 1002 via the communication controlsection 1072 and the network interface 1073 in order. The pageinformation is related to a music data delivery page that is reservedfor contractors and is stored in the page information storage section1076.

By contrast, let us assume that the user is not authenticated to be aregistered user as a result of the user authentication process by theauthentication processing section 1075. In this case, the controlsection 1070 transmits authentication error information as well asunsuccessful authentication notification page information to the clientterminal 1002 via the communication control section 1072 and the networkinterface 1073 in order. The unsuccessful authentication notificationpage information is stored in the page information storage section 1076and indicates unsuccessful authentication.

The authentication information storage section 1077 temporarily storesserver authentication result information issued by the authenticationprocessing section 1075. The authentication information storage section1077 also stores various types of authentication information needed forthe authentication processing section 1075 to authenticate users who usethe client terminal 1002.

A music data storage section 1078 stores a plurality of music datacompressed and encoded in the above-mentioned formats such as ATRAC3 andMP3. The music data are associated with retrieval keys such as contentID information.

As mentioned above, the control section 1070 transmits the pageinformation about the music data delivery page to the client terminal1002. As a result, the client terminal 1002 transmits a download requestsignal that stores a retrieval key for retrieving music data intendedfor download and requests the download of intended music data. The musicdata delivery server 1004 receives the download request signal via thenetwork interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 inorder. In this case, the retrieval section 1079 retrieves thecorresponding retrieval key from the received download request signal.

Based on the retrieval key, the retrieval section 1079 searches aplurality of pieces of music data in the music data storage section 1078for music data intended for download, i.e., one matching a retrievalcondition indicated by the retrieval key.

The control section 1070 then transmits the retrieved music dataintended for download to the client terminal 1002 via the communicationcontrol section 1072 and the network interface 1073 in order.

At this time, the control section 1070 transmits charging information tothe charging server 1008 via the communication control section 1072 andthe network interface 1073 in order. The charging information is used tocharge-the user who downloaded the music data to the client terminal1002. In this manner, the control section 1070 allows the chargingserver 1008 to perform a charging process corresponding to the musicdata downloaded by the user.

(1-5) Functional Circuit Block Configuration of Trade Server 1005

Referring now to FIG. 19, the following describes the hardwareconfiguration of the trade server 1005 using functional circuit blocks.A control section 1090 in the trade server 1005 controls operations ofcircuits connected via a bus 1091.

Under control of the control section 1090, a communication controlsection 1092 interchanges various types of information with the clientterminal 1002, the portal server 1003, and the like via a networkinterface 1093.

A customer database section 1094 stores customer information comprisinga corresponding combination of user ID information and passwordinformation about users who have completed contracts with a serviceprovider of the trade server 1005. An authentication processing section1095 may have a function to authenticate users based on portalauthentication result information that is issued by the portal server1003 and is transmitted from the client terminal 1002. In such case, thecustomer database section 1094 may be omitted.

A page information storage section 1096 stores information such as pageinformation about package media sales pages for presenting package mediasuch as CD and DVD for sale. The trade server 1005 manages thisinformation.

The page information about package media sales pages is written inlanguages such as XML. This enables a user of the client terminal 1002to select intended package media such as CD and DVD to be purchased.

The control section 1090 receives a page information acquisition requestsignal transmitted from the client terminal 1002 via the networkinterface 1093 and the communication control section 1092 in order. Thepage information acquisition request signal requests page informationabout package media sales pages. According to the received pageinformation acquisition request signal, the control section 1090transmits the page information about package media sales pages to theclient terminal 1002 via the communication control section 1092 and thenetwork interface 1093 in order. The page information about packagemedia sales pages is stored in the page information storage section1096.

The authentication processing section 1095 receives the user IDinformation and the password information about the user of the clientterminal 1002 from it via the network interface 1093 and thecommunication control section 1092 in order. The authenticationprocessing section 1095 then performs a user authentication process toconfirm whether or not the customer database section 1094 stores thereceived user ID information and password information as the customerinformation.

Further, the authentication processing section 1095 uses a userauthentication technique that differs from the user authenticationprocess using the user ID information and the password information. Thatis to say, the authentication processing section 1095 receives portalauthentication result information (authentication ticket to be describedlater) that is issued by the portal server 1003 and is transmitted fromthe client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1093 and thecommunication control section 1092 in order. The authenticationprocessing section 1095 then transmits the received portalauthentication result information to the portal server 1003 via thecommunication control section 1092 and the network interface 1093 inorder.

In response to the portal authentication result information transmittedto the portal server 1003, the authentication processing section 1095receives confirmation result information via the network interface 1093and the communication control section 1092 in order. The confirmationresult information is returned from the portal server 1003 as a resultof applying the authentication process (i.e., the above-mentionedconfirmation process) to the portal authentication result information.Based on the received confirmation result information, theauthentication processing section 1095 confirms whether or not the useris a registered user who completed a contract with the service providerof the music related service provision system 1000.

Upon completion of the user authentication process, the authenticationprocessing section 1095 issues the server authentication resultinformation (service session ID information to be described later)indicating the result of the user authentication process.

Let us assume that the user is authenticated to be a registered user asa result of the user authentication process by the authenticationprocessing section 1095. In this case, the control section 1090transmits page information as well as the server authentication resultinformation to the client terminal 1002 via the communication controlsection 1092 and the network interface 1093 in order. The pageinformation is related to a package media sales page that is reservedfor contractors and is stored in the page information storage section1096.

By contrast, let us assume that the user is not authenticated to be aregistered user as a result of the user authentication process by theauthentication processing section 1095. In this case, the controlsection 1090 transmits authentication error information as well asunsuccessful authentication notification page information to the clientterminal 1002 via the communication control section 1092 and the networkinterface 1093 in order. The unsuccessful authentication notificationpage information is stored in the page information storage section 1096and indicates unsuccessful authentication.

The authentication information storage section 1097 temporarily storesserver authentication result information issued by the authenticationprocessing section 1095. The authentication information storage section1097 also stores various types of authentication information needed forthe authentication processing section 1095 to authenticate users who usethe client terminal 1002.

A package media information storage section 1098 stores information(hereafter referred to as package media information) about a pluralityof package media such as CD and DVD for sale. The package mediainformation is associated with retrieval keys such as package media IDinformation.

As mentioned above, the control section 1090 transmits the pageinformation about the package media sales page to the client terminal1002. As a result, the client terminal 1002 transmits a mediainformation request signal that requests package media information abouta specific package medium such as CD and DVD. The media informationrequest signal is received via the network interface 1093 and thecommunication control section 1092 in order. In this case, the retrievalsection 1099 retrieves the corresponding retrieval key for retrievingthe specific package medium from the received media information requestsignal.

Based on the retrieval key, the retrieval section 1099 searches aplurality of pieces of package media information in the package mediainformation storage section 1098 for the package media information aboutthe specific package medium, i.e., the information matching a retrievalcondition indicated by the retrieval key.

The control section 1090 then transmits the retrieved package mediainformation to the client terminal 1002 via the communication controlsection 1092 and the network interface 1093 in order. In this manner,the user is provided with the package media information about thespecific package media.

As a result, the client terminal 1002 transmits a purchase requestsignal to request the purchase of the above-mentioned specific packagemedium. The control section 1090 receives the purchase request signalvia the network interface 1093 and the communication control section1092 in order. The control section 1090 then performs purchase processessuch as shipping the specific package medium to the user of the clientterminal 1002.

The control section 1090 transmits charging information to the chargingserver 1008 via the communication control section 1092 and the networkinterface 1093 in order. The charging information is used to charge theuser who purchased the specific package medium. In this manner, thecontrol section 1090 allows the charging server 1008 to perform acharging process corresponding to the user's purchase of the specificpackage medium.

When the charging server 1008 completes the charging process for theuser, the control section 1090 transmits purchase completion informationto the client terminal 1002 via the communication control section 1092and the network interface 1093 in order. The purchase completioninformation indicates that the purchase of package media is complete.

(1-6) Functional Circuit Block Configuration of Radio BroadcastInformation Delivery Server 1006

With reference to FIG. 20, the following describes the hardwareconfiguration of the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006,using functional circuit blocks. A control section 1110 in the radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006 controls operations ofcircuits connected via a bus 1111.

Under the control of the control section 1110, a communication controlsection 1112 interchanges various types of information with the clientterminal 1002, the portal server 1003, and the like via a networkinterface 1113.

A customer database section 1114 registers customer informationcomprising user ID information and associated password information of auser who has completed a contract with a service provider of the radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006. The authenticationprocessing section 1115 may have a function to authenticate users basedon the portal authentication result information that is sent from theclient terminal 1002 and is issued by the portal server 1003. In suchcase, the customer database section 1114 may not be provided.

There is provided radio broadcast information called on-air-listinformation. This information is managed by the radio broadcastinformation delivery server 1006 and concerns the radio program alreadybroadcast by the radio station corresponding to the radio broadcastinformation delivery server 1006. A page information storage section1116 stores, for example, page information about an on-air-listinformation delivery page used to acquire the on-air-list information.

Page information about the on-air-list information delivery page iswritten in a language such as XML. There is provided an input box or thelike that allows a user of the client terminal 1002 to enter retrievalkeys for intended on-air-list information. For example, retrieval keysinclude broadcast date information, names, and the like of radioprograms.

An on-air-list information storage section 1117 stores the on-air-listinformation generated in a list format. The on-air-list informationincludes: the name of the radio program already broadcasted from theradio station corresponding to the radio broadcast information deliveryserver 1006; program broadcast start time, program broadcast end time,and the like; and title and artist name of a music broadcasted in theradio program, music broadcast start time, and the like.

The control section 1110 receives a page information acquisition requestsignal to request the page information about the on-air-list informationdelivery page from the client terminal 1002 via the network interface1113 and the communication control section 1112 in order. Correspondingto the received page information acquisition request signal, the controlsection 1110 sends the page information about the on-air-listinformation delivery page stored in the page information storage section1116 to the client terminal 1002 via the communication control section1112 and the network interface 1113 in order.

After the retrieval key is entered for the page information about theon-air-list information delivery page from the client terminal 1002, theretrieval section 1118 stores the retrieval key to retrieve the intendedon-air-list information. When an on-air-list information request signalis transmitted to request download of the on-air-list information, theretrieval section 1118 receives the on-air-list information requestsignal via the network interface 1113 and the communication controlsection 1112 in order. The retrieval section 1118 then extracts theretrieval key from the received on-air-list information request signal.

Based on the retrieval key, the retrieval section 1118 searches theentire on-air-list information in the on-air-list information storagesection 1117 for the targeted on-air-list information within a specifiedrange corresponding to the retrieval condition indicated by theretrieval key.

As a result, the control section 1110 sends the retrieved targetedon-air-list information to the client terminal 1002 via thecommunication control section 1112 and the network interface 1113 inorder.

A now-on-air information storage section 1119 stores radio broadcastinformation called now-on-air information. This information comprises:program name, program broadcast start time, and program broadcast endtime of a radio program currently broadcasted from the radio stationcorresponding to the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006;and title, artist name, music broadcast start time, and the like of amusic composition currently broadcasted in the radio program.

The client terminal 1002 sends not only a now-on-air information requestsignal to request to acquire the now-on-air information, but also userID information and password information of the user who uses the clientterminal 1002. The authentication processing section 1115 receives thesepieces of information via the network interface 1113 and thecommunication control section 1112 in order. The authenticationprocessing section 1115 then performs the user authentication process toconfirm whether or not the received user ID information and passwordinformation are registered as the customer information in the customerdatabase section 1114.

Further, the authentication processing section 1115 uses a userauthentication technique different from the user authentication processthat uses the user ID information and the password information. That isto say, the client terminal 1002 sends the portal authentication resultinformation (authentication ticket to be described later) that is issuedfrom the portal server 1003. The authentication processing section 1115receives this information via the network interface 1113 and thecommunication control section 1112 in order. The authenticationprocessing section 1115 then sends the received portal authenticationresult information to the portal server 1003 via the communicationcontrol section 1112 and the network interface 1113 in order.

After the authentication processing section 1115 sends the portalauthentication result information to the portal server 1003, the portalserver 1003 returns confirmation result information as a result ofperforming the authentication process (i.e., the above-mentionedconfirmation process) corresponding to the portal authentication resultinformation. The authentication processing section 1115 receives theconfirmation result information via the network interface 1113 and thecommunication control section 1112 in order. Based on the receivedconfirmation result information, the authentication processing section1115 determines whether or not the user is a registered user who hascompleted a contract with the service provider of a music relatedservice provision system 1000.

After terminating the user authentication process, the authenticationprocessing section 1115 issues server authentication result information(service session ID information to be described later) indicating theresult of the user authentication process.

Let us assume that the user is authenticated to be a registered user asa result of the user authentication process performed by theauthentication processing section 1115. In this case, the controlsection 1110 sends the now-on-air information stored in the now-on-airinformation storage section 1119 as well as the server authenticationresult information to the client terminal 1002 via the communicationcontrol section 1112 and the network interface 1113 in order.

By contrast, let us assume that the user is not authenticated to be aregistered user as a result of the user authentication process performedby the authentication processing section 1115. In this case, the controlsection 1110 sends authentication error information as well asunsuccessful authentication notification page information to the clientterminal 1002 via the communication control section 1112 and the networkinterface 1113 in order. The unsuccessful authentication notificationpage information is stored in the page information storage section 1116and indicates unsuccessful authentication.

In this manner, the control section 1110 functions in response to arequest to acquire the now-on-air information from the user as follows.When the user is authenticated to be a registered user, the controlsection 1110 provides the now-on-air information. When the user is notauthenticated to be a registered user, however, the control section 1110prevents the user from receiving radio broadcast information deliveryservices provided by the radio broadcast information delivery server1006 such as the now-on-air information delivery service.

The authentication information storage section 1120 temporarily storesthe server authentication result information issued from theauthentication processing section 1115. The authentication informationstorage section 1120 also stores various authentication informationneeded when the authentication processing section 1115 authenticates auser of the client terminal 1002.

(1-7) Process Overview of Each Server

With reference to sequence charts in FIGS. 21 through 26, the followingoutlines processes performed between the client terminal 1002 and theportal server 1003 and processes performed between the client terminal1002 and each of the music data delivery server 1004, the trade server1005, and the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006.

(1-7-1) User Authentication Process between Client Terminal 1002 andPortal Server 1003

With reference to FIG. 21, the following describes a user authenticationprocess performed between the client terminal 1002 and the portal server1003.

The user of the client terminal 1002 contracts with the service providerof the music related service provision system 1000. For example, theuser performs an operation to turn on the client terminal 1002.Alternatively, the user presses a specific operation button on theoperation input section 1020. In response to such operation, theoperation input section 1020 recognizes an operation input signal. Theinput processing section 1021 converts this signal into an operationcommand. The control section 1023 is supplied with this command andstarts an authentication request process.

After starting the authentication request process, the control section1023, at step SP1000, generates a connection request signal containingthe authentication session ID information and the like temporarilystored in the authentication information storage section 1038. Thecontrol section 1023 sends the generated connection request signal tothe portal server 1003 via the communication control section 1032 andthe network interface 1033 in order.

The client terminal 1002 establishes a communication connection with theportal server 1003 to perform various processes such as the userauthentication process. Each time this communication connection isestablished, the portal server 1003 issues the authentication session IDinformation as identification information to identify respectivecommunication connection states (i.e., sessions).

For the use with the user authentication process and the like, theauthentication session ID information is assigned with a specified validperiod (e.g., approximately one minute) with reference to the time ofissuance from the portal server 1003.

The client terminal 1002 acquires the authentication session IDinformation from the portal server 1003. There may be a case where theclient terminal 1002 cannot supply the authentication session IDinformation to the portal server 1003 within the valid period. In suchcase, the portal server 1003 determines cancellation of thecommunication connection state specified by the authentication sessionID information.

In this manner, the portal server 1003 prevents the previously issuedauthentication session ID information from being falsely used by a usernot contracted with the service provider of the music-related serviceprovision system 1000.

The authentication information storage section 1038 temporarily storesthe authentication session ID information. This authentication sessionID information was issued by the portal server 1003 that establishedcommunication connection with the client terminal 1002 to perform theuser authentication process and the like.

The client terminal 1002 sends a connection request signal. In responseto this, at step SP1001, the control section 1050 of the portal server1003 receives the connection request signal via the network interface1053 and the communication control section 1052 in order. The receivedconnection request signal contains the authentication session IDinformation and the like. The control section 1050 sends theauthentication session ID information and the like to the authenticationprocessing section 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs the user authentication process basedon the authentication session ID information and the like received asthe connection request signal from the client terminal 1002.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1056 may not be ableto authenticate the user of the client terminal 1002 to be a registereduser due to expiration of the valid period specified in theauthentication session ID information and the like received from theclient terminal 1002. In such case, the control section 1050 sends theauthentication error information indicating an authentication error tothe client terminal 1002 via the communication control section 1052 andthe network interface 1053 in order.

At step SP1002, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the authentication error information sent from the portalserver 1003 via the network interface 1033 and the communication controlsection 1032 in order. In response to this, the control section 1023reads the user ID information, the password information, and the likestored in the authentication information storage section 1038. Thecontrol section 1023 sends the read user ID information, passwordinformation, and the like to the portal server 1003 via thecommunication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 inorder.

At step SP1003, the control section 1050 of the portal server 1003receives the user ID information, the password information, and the likesent from the client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1053 andthe communication control section 1052 in order. The control section1050 sends these pieces of information to the authentication processingsection 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1056 checks if thereceived user ID information, password information, and the like areincluded in the customer information registered to the customer databasesection 1054.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1056 may authenticatethe user of the client terminal 1002 to be a registered user. In thiscase, under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 issues the portal authentication resultinformation, i.e., the authentication session ID information and thelike about communication connection state between the client terminal1002 and the portal server 1003 at this time. In addition, theauthentication processing section 1056 temporarily stores theauthentication session ID information and the like in the authenticationinformation storage section 1057.

After the authentication processing section 1056 issued theauthentication session ID information and the like to the clientterminal 1002, the control section 1050 sends these pieces ofinformation to the client terminal 1002 via the communication controlsection 1052 and the network interface 1053 in order.

At step SP1004, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the authentication session ID information and the like sentfrom the portal server 1003 via the network interface 1033 and thecommunication control section 1032 in order. The control section 1023then sends the received authentication session ID information and thelike to the authentication processing section 1037.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received authenticationsession ID information and the like in the authentication informationstorage section 1038.

The control section 1023 sends the page information acquisition requestsignal to request the-portal server 1003 for the page information. Atthis time, the control section 1023 also sends the authenticationsession ID information and the like temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1038 to the portal server1003 via the communication control section 1032 and the networkinterface 1033 in order.

At step SP1005, the control section 1050 of the portal server 1003receives the-page information acquisition request signal, theauthentication session ID information, and the like sent from the clientterminal 1002 via the network interface 1053 and the communicationcontrol section 1052 in order. The control section 1050 sends thereceived authentication session ID information and the like to theauthentication processing section 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1056 compares thereceived authentication session ID information and the like with theauthentication session ID information and the like that were issued tothe client terminal 1002 at the above-mentioned step SP1003 and weretemporarily stored in the authentication information storage section1057.

As a result, at step SP1006, the authentication processing section 1056authenticates the user of the client terminal 1002 as a registered user.The authentication processing section 1056 determines that the terminal1002 issued the valid acquisition request for the page information. Theauthentication processing section 1056 extends the valid period for theauthentication session ID information and the like issued to the clientterminal 1002.

At this time, the control section 1050 reads the user-requested pageinformation from the page information storage section 1055. The controlsection 1050 sends the read page information, the authentication sessionID information, and the like to the client terminal 1002 via thecommunication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 inorder. At this time, the authentication session ID information and thelike are assigned with the valid period extended by the authenticationprocessing section 1056.

At step SP1007, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the page information sent from the portal server 1003 and theauthentication session ID information with the extended valid period andthe like via the network interface 1033 and the communication controlsection 1032 in order. The control section 1023 sends the-received pageinformation to the page information generation section 1036 and sendsthe authentication session ID information with the extended valid periodand the like to the authentication processing section 1037.

Based on the page information supplied from the control section 1023,the page information generation section 1036 generates video data of thepage embedded with links to the music data delivery server 1004, thetrade server 1005, and the radio broadcast information delivery server1006. The page information generation section 1036 sends the generatedvideo data to the display control section 1024.

The display control section 1024 applies a digital-analog conversionprocess to the video data supplied from the page information generationsection 1036. The display control section 1024 then sends the convertedanalog video signal to the display section 1025. As a result, thedisplay section 1025 displays the page of the portal server 1003 as avideo based on the analog video signal.

The authentication processing section 1037 updates the authenticationsession ID information and the like temporarily stored at theabove-mentioned step SP1004 to the authentication session ID informationwith the extended valid period and the like as follows. Under thecontrol of the control section 1023, the authentication processingsection 1037 temporarily stores the authentication session IDinformation with the extended valid period and the like received fromthe portal server 1003 in the authentication information storage section1038 so as to overwrite the authentication session ID information havingthe valid period not extended and the like.

(1-7-2) User Authentication Process between Client Terminal 1002 andeach of servers 1004 through 1006

With reference to FIG. 22, the following describes the userauthentication process performed between the client terminal 1002 andeach of the music data delivery server 1004, the trade server 1005, andthe radio broadcast information delivery server 1006.

As an example of the user authentication process, the client terminal1002 once acquires the page information from the portal server 1003 asmentioned above with reference to FIG. 21. The page information containslinks for access to the music data delivery server 1004, the tradeserver 1005, and the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 toperform the user authentication process. This user authenticationprocess is hereinafter referred to as an indirect access authenticationprocess.

As another example of the user authentication process, the clientterminal 1002 does not acquire the page information from the portalserver 1003. Instead, previously “bookmarked” URL information and thelike are used for direct access to the music data delivery server 1004,the trade server 1005, and the radio broadcast information deliveryserver 1006. This user authentication process is hereafter referred toas a direct access authentication process.

The indirect access authentication process can be performed just thesame in any combinations of the client terminal 1002 and the music datadelivery server 1004, the trade server 1005, and the radio broadcastinformation delivery server 1006.

The direct access authentication process can be also performed just thesame in any combinations of the client terminal 1002 and the music datadelivery server 1004, the trade server 1005, and the radio broadcastinformation delivery server 1006.

The indirect access authentication process differs from the directaccess authentication process only as to a manner of acquiring URLinformation used by the client terminal 1002 for access to the musicdata delivery server 1004, the trade server 1005, and the radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006. After the URL information isacquired, the indirect access authentication process and the directaccess authentication process can be performed just the same.

In the following description, the music data delivery server 1004represents an access destination of the client terminal 1002 forsimplicity. Further, the indirect access authentication process and thedirect access authentication process are described as one userauthentication process.

At step SP1010, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002follows the URL information embedded as links in the page information orthe URL information and the like already registered as bookmarks. Thecontrol section 1023 transmits the service session ID information andthe like read from the authentication information storage section 1038as well as a page information acquisition request signal to the musicdata delivery server 1004 via the communication control section 1032 andthe network interface 1033 in order. The page information acquisitionrequest signal requests to acquire the page information about music datadelivery pages. The page information concerns package media sales pagesand on-air-list information delivery pages for the trade server 1005 andthe radio broadcast information delivery server 1006.

The client terminal 1002 establishes a communication connection with themusic data delivery server 1004, the trade server 1005, and the radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006 to perform various processessuch as the user authentication process. Each time this communicationconnection is established, the music data delivery server 1004, thetrade server 1005, and the radio broadcast information delivery server1006 accessed by the client terminal 1002 issue the service session IDinformation as identification information to identify respectivecommunication connection states (i.e., sessions).

For the use with the user authentication process and the like, theservice session ID information, like the authentication session IDinformation, is assigned with a specified valid period (e.g.,approximately one minute) with reference to the time of issuance fromthe music data delivery server 1004, the trade server 1005, and theradio broadcast information delivery server 1006.

The client terminal 1002 acquires the service session ID informationfrom the servers 1004 through 1006. There may be a case where the clientterminal 1002 cannot supply the service session ID information to theinformation-issuing servers such as the music data delivery server 1004,the trade server 1005, and the radio broadcast information deliveryserver 1006 within the valid period. In such case, theinformation-issuing'servers such as the music data delivery server 1004,the trade server 1005, and the radio broadcast information deliveryserver 1006 determine cancellation of the communication connection statespecified by the service session ID information.

In this manner, the music data delivery server 1004, the trade server1005, and the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 preventthe previously issued service session ID information from being falselyused by a user not contracted with the service provider of the musicrelated service provision system 1000.

The authentication information storage section 1038 temporarily storesthe service session ID information. This service session ID informationwas issued by the music data delivery server 1004, the trade server1005, and the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 thatestablished communication connection with the client-terminal 1002 toperform the user authentication process and the like.

At step SP1011, the control section 1070 of the music data deliveryserver 1004 receives the page information acquisition request signal,the service session ID information, and the like transmitted from theclient terminal 1002 via the network interface 1073 and thecommunication control section 1072 in order. The control section 1070transmits the received service session ID information and the like tothe authentication processing section 1075.

Under the control of the control section 1070, the authenticationprocessing section 1075 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1075 compares thereceived service session ID information and the like with the servicesession ID information and the like temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1077.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1075 may not be ableto authenticate the user of the client terminal 1002 to be a registereduser, e.g., due to expiration of the valid period for the servicesession ID information received from the client terminal 1002. In suchcase, the authentication processing section 1075 determines that theclient terminal 1002 issued an invalid acquisition request for the pageinformation about the music data delivery page.

In this case, the control section 1070 transmits authentication errorinformation and a shop code to the client terminal 1002 via thecommunication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 inorder. The authentication error information indicates an authenticationerror. The shop code is provided to identify the music data deliveryserver 1004.

At step SP1012, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the authentication error information and the shop codetransmitted from the music data delivery server 1004 via the networkinterface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in order.According to the received authentication error information, the controlsection 1023 determines that the music data delivery server 1004 doesnot authenticate the user as a registered user. In addition, the controlsection 1023 temporarily stores the shop code received from the musicdata delivery server 1004 in the authentication information storagesection 1038.

The control section 1023 generates an authentication ticket issuancerequest signal that requests the portal server 1003 to issue anauthentication ticket for access to the music data delivery server 1004.The control section 1023 then transmits the generated authenticationticket issuance request signal, the shop code of the music data deliveryserver 1004, the authentication session ID information, and the like tothe portal server 1003 via the communication control section 1032 andthe network interface 1033 in order. It should be noted that theauthentication session ID information and the like are already receivedfrom the portal server 1003 and are temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1038.

At step SP1013, the control section 1050 of the portal server 1003receives the authentication ticket issuance request signal, the shopcode, the authentication session ID information, and the like sent fromthe client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1053 and thecommunication control section 1052 in order. The control section 1050then sends these pieces of information to the authentication processingsection 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the control section 1056 compares the authenticationsession ID information and the like with the authentication session IDinformation and the like temporarily stored in the authenticationinformation storage section 1057.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1056 may not be ableto authenticate the user of the client terminal 1002 to be a registereduser, e.g., due to expiration of the valid period for the authenticationsession ID information received from the client terminal 1002. In suchcase, the authentication processing section 1056 determines that theclient terminal 1002 issued an invalid acquisition request for theauthentication ticket.

In this case, the control section 1050 sends authentication errorinformation indicating an authentication error to the client terminal1002 via the communication control section 1052 and the networkinterface 1053 in order.

By contrast, there may be a case where the valid period still takeseffect for the authentication session ID information received from theclient terminal 1002. In such case, the authentication processingsection 1056 authenticates the user of the client terminal 1002 to be aregistered user. The authentication processing section 1056 determinesthat the client terminal 1002 issues a valid request for theauthentication ticket. In this case, the control section 1050 moves tostep SP1018 to be described later.

At step SP1014, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the authentication error information sent from the portalserver 1003 via the network interface 1033 and the communication controlsection 1032 in order. The control section 1023 then reads the user IDinformation, the password information, and the like stored in theauthentication information storage section 1038. In addition, thecontrol section 1023 sends the read user ID information, the passwordinformation, and the like to the portal server 1003 via thecommunication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 inorder.

At step SP1015, the control section 1050 of the portal server 1003receives the user ID information, the password information, and the likesent from the client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1053 andthe communication control section 1052 in order. The control section1050 then sends these pieces of information to the authenticationprocessing section 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1056 checks whetheror not the customer information registered to the customer databasesection 1054 contains the received user ID information, the passwordinformation, and the like.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1056 authenticatesthe user of the client terminal 1002 to be a registered user. Under thecontrol of the control section 1050, the authentication processingsection 1056 issues the portal authentication result information, i.e.,the authentication session ID information and the like about the stateof communication connection between the client terminal 1002 and theportal server 1003 at the present time. The authentication processingsection 1056 temporarily stores the issued authentication session IDinformation and the like in the authentication information'storagesection 1057.

After the authentication processing section 1056 issues theauthentication session ID information and the like to the clientterminal 1002, the control section 1050 sends the authentication sessionID information and the like to the client terminal 1002 via thecommunication control section 1052 and the network interface 1053 inorder.

At step SP1016, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the authentication session ID information and the like sentfrom the portal server 1003 via the network interface 1033 and thecommunication control section 1032 in order. The authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received authenticationsession ID information and the like in the authentication informationstorage section 1038.

The control section 1023 generates an authentication ticket issuancerequest signal that re-requests the portal server 1003 to issue anauthentication ticket. The control section 1023 sends the generatedauthentication ticket issuance request signal as well as the shop codetemporarily stored in the authentication information storage section1038 and the authentication session ID information and the liketemporarily stored at this time to the portal server 1003 via thecommunication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 inorder.

According to the embodiment, the client terminal 1002 temporarily storesthe shop code in the authentication information storage section 1038.The present invention is not limited thereto. When performing theprocess at steps SP1012 through SP1016, the client terminal 1002 cansequentially exchange the shop code with the portal server 1003. In thismanner, the client terminal 1002 need not temporarily store the shopcode in the authentication information storage section 1038.Nevertheless, it is possible to send the shop code to the portal server1003 at step SP1016.

At step SP1017, the control section 1050 of the portal server 1003receives the authentication ticket issuance request signal, the shopcode, the authentication session ID information, and the like sent fromthe client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1053 and thecommunication control section 1052 in order. The control section 1050sends the received authentication ticket issuance request signal and thelike to the authentication processing section 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1056 compares thereceived authentication session ID information and the like with theauthentication session ID information and the like temporarily stored inthe authentication information storage section 1057.

As a result, there may be a case where the valid period still takeseffect for the authentication session ID information and the likereceived from the client terminal 1002. In such case, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 authenticates the user of the client terminal1002 to be a registered user. The authentication processing section 1056determines that the client terminal 1002 issues a valid request for theauthentication ticket.

And the control section 1050 proceeds to next step SP 1018, when theauthentication processing section 1056 authenticates that the user ofthe client terminal 1002 is legitimate.

At step SP1018, under the control of the control section 1050, based onthe shop code and the authentication ticket issuance request signalreceived from the client terminal 1002 at the above-mentioned stepSP1017. The authentication processing section 1056 issues the portalauthentication result information, i.e., an authentication ticket andthe like to enable access to the music data delivery server 1004indicated by the shop code.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 temporarily stores the issued authenticationticket and the like in the authentication information storage section1057. In addition, the authentication processing section 1056 extendsthe valid period for the authentication session ID information and thelike issued to the client terminal 1002.

That is to say, the authentication processing section 1056 has issuedthe authentication ticket and the like and extended the valid period ofthe authentication session ID information and the like. Thereafter, thecontrol section 1050 sends these authentication ticket and the like andauthentication session ID information and the like to the clientterminal 1002 via the communication control section 1052 and the networkinterface 1053 in order.

At step SP1019, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the authentication ticket and the like sent from the portalserver 1003 and the authentication session ID information with theextended valid period via the network interface 1033 and thecommunication control section 1032 in order. The control section 1023sends the received authentication session ID information to theauthentication processing section 1037.

The control section 1023 sends the authentication-ticket and the likereceived from the portal server 1003 together with the authenticationrequest signal to the music data delivery server 1004 via thecommunication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 inorder.

At this time, under the control of the control section 1023, theauthentication processing section 1037 temporarily stores theauthentication session ID information having the extended valid periodreceived from the portal server 1003 in the authentication informationstorage section 1038 so as to overwrite the authentication session IDinformation having the valid period not extended. In this manner, theauthentication processing section 1037 updates the authenticationsession ID information temporarily stored at the above-mentioned stepSP1616 to the authentication session ID information having the extendedvalid period.

At step SP1020, the control section 1070 of the music data deliveryserver 1004 receives the authentication request signal, theauthentication ticket, and the like transmitted from the client terminal1002 via the network interface 1073 and the communication controlsection 1072 in order.

The control section 1070 transmits the authentication ticket and thelike received from the client terminal 1002 together with anauthentication ticket confirmation request signal for requestingconfirmation of the authentication ticket and the like to theportal-server 1003 via the communication control section 1072 and thenetwork interface 1073 in order.

At step SP1021, the control section 1050 of the portal server 1003receives the authentication ticket confirmation request signal, theauthentication ticket, and the like transmitted from the music datadelivery server 1004 via the network interface 1053 and thecommunication control section 1052 in order. The control section 1050then transmits the received authentication ticket confirmation requestsignal, the authentication ticket, and the like to the authenticationprocessing section 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs a confirmation process for theauthentication ticket received from the music data delivery server 1004in response to the authentication ticket confirmation request signal.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1056 compares thereceived authentication ticket and the like with the authenticationticket and the like temporarily stored in the authentication informationstorage section 1057.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1056 confirms thatthe genuine authentication ticket and the like are received from themusic data delivery server 1004. In this case, the control section 1050transmits confirmation result information to the music data deliveryserver 1004 via the communication control section 1052 and the networkinterface 1053 in order. The confirmation result information indicatesthat the received authentication ticket and the like are confirmed to begenuine.

At step SP1022, the control section 1070 of the music data deliveryserver 1004 receives the confirmation result information transmittedfrom the portal server 1003 via the network interface 1073 and thecommunication control section 1072 in order. The control section 1070transmits the received confirmation result information to theauthentication processing section 1075.

Under control of the control section 1070, the authentication processingsection 1075 responds to the confirmation result information and issuesserver authentication result information, i.e., service session IDinformation and the like about the state of communication connectionbetween the client terminal 1002 and the music data delivery server 1004at the present time. In addition, the authentication processing section1075 temporarily stores the issued service session ID information andthe like in the authentication information storage section 1077.

After the authentication processing section 1075 issued the servicesession ID information and the like to the client terminal 1002, thecontrol section 1070 transmits these pieces of information to the clientterminal 1002 via the communication control section 1072 and the networkinterface 1073 in order.

At step SP1023, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the service session ID information and the like sent from themusic data delivery server 1004 via the network interface 1033 and thecommunication control section 1032 in order. The authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received service sessionID information and the like in the authentication information storagesection 1038.

The control section 1023 transmits the page information acquisitionrequest signal, the service session ID information, and the like to themusic data delivery server 1004 via the communication control section1032 and the network interface 1033 in order. The page informationacquisition request signal requests the page information about the musicdata delivery page. The service session ID information is temporarilystored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

As step SP1024, the control section 1070 of the music data deliveryserver 1004 receives the page information acquisition request signal,the service session ID information, and the like transmitted from theclient terminal 1002 via the network interface 1073 and thecommunication control section 1072 in order. The control section 1070then transmits the received service session ID information and the liketo the authentication processing section 1075.

Under the control of the control section 1070, the authenticationprocessing section 1075 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the control section 1070 compares the received servicesession ID information and the like with the service session IDinformation and the like that are already issued to the client terminal1002 at the above-mentioned step SP1022 and are temporarily stored inthe authentication information storage section 1077.

As a result, there may be a case where the valid period still takeseffect for the service session ID information and the like received fromthe client terminal 1002. In such case, the authentication processingsection 1075 authenticates the user of the client terminal 1002 to be aregistered user. The authentication processing section 1075 determinesthat the client terminal 1002 issues a valid request to acquire the pageinformation about the music data delivery page.

The control section 1070 then proceeds to the next step SP1025. At stepSP1025, the control section 1070 reads the page information about theuser-requested music data delivery page from the page informationstorage section 1076. In addition, the control section 1070 allows theauthentication processing section 1075 to extend the valid period forthe service session ID information and the like issued to the clientterminal 1002.

The control section 1070 transmits the page information about the musicdata delivery page read from the page information storage section 1076together with the service session ID information and the like to theclient terminal 1002 via the communication control section 1072 and thenetwork interface 1073 in order. The service session ID information andthe like have the valid period extended by the authentication processingsection 1075.

At step SP1026, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the page information about the music data delivery page, theservice session ID information having the extended valid period, and thelike from the music data delivery server 1004 via the network interface1033 and the communication control section 1032 in order. The controlsection 1023 transmits the page information about the received musicdata delivery page to the page information generation section 1036. Inaddition, the control section 1023 transmits the received servicesession ID information and the like to the authentication processingsection 1037.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received service sessionID information having the extended valid period and the like in theauthentication information storage section 1038 so as to overwrite theservice session ID information and the like before extension of thevalid period. In this manner, the authentication processing section 1037updates the service session ID information and the like temporarilystored at the above-mentioned step SP1023 to the service session IDinformation having the extended valid period and the like.

Further, the page information generation section 1036 generates videodata based on the page information about the music data delivery page.The page information generation section 1036 transmits the generatedvideo data to the display control section 1024.

The display control section 1024 applies a digital-analog conversionprocess to the video data supplied from the page information generationsection 1036. The display control section 1024 then transmits theobtained analog video signal to the display section 1025. As a result,the display section 1025 displays the music data delivery page as avideo based on the analog video signal.

(1-7-3) Music Related Service Provision Processes

With reference to FIGS. 23 through 26, the following describes musicrelated service provision processes. These processes occur aftercompletion of the user authentication process performed between theclient terminal 1002 and each of the music data delivery server 1004,the trade server 1005, and the radio broadcast information deliveryserver 1006 as mentioned above with reference to FIG. 22. During a musicrelated service provision process, the client terminal 1002 uses pageinformation about music data delivery pages, package media sales pages,and on-air-list information delivery pages. The client terminal 1002acquired the page information during the user authentication processfrom the music data delivery server 1004, the trade server 1005, and theradio broadcast information delivery server 1006. Using that pageinformation and the like, the client terminal 1002 is provided withmusic data delivery services, trade services, and radio broadcastinformation delivery services.

(1-7-3-1) Music Data Delivery Service Provision Process

With reference to FIG. 23, the following describes a music data deliveryservice provision process. During this process, the client terminal 1002is provided with music data delivery services from the music datadelivery server 1004.

For example, the user uses the input processing section 1021 to enter acontrol command to select part of the music data delivery page displayedas video on the display section 1025. At step SP1030, the controlsection 1023 of the client terminal 1002 responds to the entered controlcommand to generate a download request signal that requests to downloadmusic data intended for download.

The control section 1023 transmits the download request signal togetherwith service session ID information and the like to the music datadelivery server 1004 via the communication control section 1032 and thenetwork interface 1033 in order. The service session ID information andthe like are already issued by the music data delivery server 1004 andare temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section1038.

At step SP1031, the control section 1070 of the music data deliveryserver 1004 receives the download request signal, the service session IDinformation, and the like transmitted from the client terminal 1002 viathe network interface 1073 and the communication control section 1072 inorder. The control section 1070 then transmits the received servicesession ID information and the like to the authentication processingsection 1075.

Under the control of the control section 1070, the authenticationprocessing section 1075 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1075 compares thereceived service session ID information and the like with the servicesession ID information and the like temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1077.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1075 may authenticatethe user to be a registered user who requested to download the musicdata using the client terminal 1002. In this case, the control section1070 proceeds to the next step SP1032.

At step SP1032, based on the retrieval key stored in the downloadrequest signal, the retrieval section 1079 searches a plurality ofpieces of music data in the music data storage section 1078 for musicdata intended for download, i.e., one matching a retrieval conditionindicated by the retrieval key.

Let us assume that the retrieval section 1079 retrieves the music data.The control section 1070 allows the authentication processing section1075 to extend the valid period for the service session ID informationand the like issued to the client terminal 1002. The control section1070 then proceeds to the next step SP1033.

At step SP1033, the control section 1070 reads the music data intendedfor download retrieved by the retrieval section 1079 from the music datastorage section 1078. In addition, the control section 1070 transmitsthe read music data intended for download together with the servicesession ID information and the like to the client terminal 1002 via thecommunication control section 1072 and the network interface 1073 inorder. At this time, the service session ID information has the validperiod extended by the authentication processing section 1075.

At step SP1034, the control section 1023,of the client terminal 1002receives the music data intended for download transmitted from the musicdata delivery server 1004, the service session ID information having theextended valid period, and the like via the network interface 1033 andthe communication control section 1032 in order. The control section1023 stores the received music data in the storage medium 1029. Inaddition, the control section 1023 transmits the received servicesession ID information and the like to the authentication processingsection 1037.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received service sessionID information having the extended valid period and the like in theauthentication information storage section 1038 so as to overwrite theservice session ID information and the like before extension of thevalid period. In this manner, the authentication processing section 1037updates the contents of the service session ID information and the liketemporarily stored in the authentication information storage section1038.

In this manner, the client terminal 1002 can download user-specifiedmusic data using the music data delivery service provided from the musicdata delivery server 1004.

(1-7-3-2) Trade Service Provision Process

With reference to FIG. 24, the following describes a trade serviceprovision process during which the client terminal 1002 is provided withtrade services from the trade server 1005.

For example, the user uses the input processing section 1021 to enter acontrol command to select part of the package media sales page displayedas video on the display section 1025. At step SP1040, the controlsection 1023 of the client terminal 1002 generates a media informationrequest signal that requests package media information about a specificpackage media corresponding to the entered control command.

The control section 1023 transmits the media information request signaltogether with service session ID information and the like to the tradeserver 1005 via the communication control section 1032 and the networkinterface 1033 in order. The service session ID information and the likeare already issued by the trade server 1005 and are temporarily storedin the authentication information storage section 1038.

At step SP1041, the control section 1090 of the trade server 1005receives the media information request signal, the service session IDinformation, and the like transmitted from the client terminal 1002 viathe network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092 inorder. The control section 1090 then transmits the received servicesession ID information and the like to the authentication processingsection 1095.

Under the control of the control section 1090, the authenticationprocessing section 1095 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1095 compares thereceived service session ID information and the like with the servicesession ID information and the like temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1097.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1095 may authenticatethe user to be a registered user who requested the package mediainformation about the package media using the client terminal 1002. Inthis case, the control section 1090 proceeds to the next step SP1042.

At step SP1042, based on the retrieval key stored in the mediainformation request signal, the retrieval section 1099 searches aplurality of pieces of package media information in the package mediainformation storage section 1098 for package media information about thespecific package media, i.e., one matching a retrieval conditionindicated by the retrieval key.

Let us assume that the retrieval section 1099 retrieves the packagemedia information. The control section 1090 allows the authenticationprocessing section 1095 to extend the valid period for the servicesession ID information and the like issued to the client terminal 1002.The control section 1090 then proceeds to the next step SP1043.

At step SP1043, the control section 1090 reads the package mediainformation retrieved by the retrieval section 1099 from the packagemedia information storage section 1098. In addition, the control section1090 transmits the read package media information together with theservice session ID information and the like to the client terminal 1002via the communication control section 1092 and the network interface1093 in order. At this time, the service session ID information has thevalid period extended by the authentication processing section 1095.

At step SP1044, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the package media information transmitted from the trade server1005, the service session ID information having the extended validperiod, and the like via the network interface 1033 and thecommunication control section 1032 in order. The control section 1023transmits the received package media information to the page informationgeneration section 1036. In addition, the control section 1023 transmitsthe received service session ID information and the like to theauthentication processing section 1037.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received service sessionID information having the extended valid period and the like in theauthentication information storage section 1038 so as to overwrite theservice session ID information and the like before extension of thevalid period. In this manner, the authentication processing section 1037updates the contents of the service session ID information and the liketemporarily stored in the authentication information storage section1038.

The page information generation section 1036 generates video data basedon the package media information supplied from the control section 1023.The display control section 1024 converts the generated video data intoan analog video signal and transmits it to the display section 1025.

In this manner, the control section 1023 allows the display section 1025to display the package media information as a video based on the analogvideo signal. The control section 1023 then proceeds to the next stepSP1045.

Let us assume that the user uses the input processing section 1021 toenter a control command to request to purchase a package mediacorresponding to the package media information displayed as video on thedisplay section 1025. At step SP1045, the control section 1023 respondsto the entered control command and generates a purchase request signalto request to purchase the package media.

The control section 1023 transmits the purchase request signal togetherwith service session ID information (i.e., having the extended validperiod) and the like to the trade server 1005 via the communicationcontrol section 1032 and the network interface 1033 in order. Theservice session ID information and the like are already received fromthe trade server 1005 and are temporarily stored in the authenticationinformation storage section 1038.

At step SP1046, the control section 1090 of the trade server 1005receives the purchase request signal, the service session IDinformation, and the like transmitted from the client terminal 1002 viathe network interface 1093 and the communication control section 1092 inorder. The control section 1090 then transmits the received servicesession ID information and the like to the authentication processingsection 1095.

Under the control of the control section 1090, the authenticationprocessing section 1095 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1095 compares thereceived service session ID information and the like with the servicesession ID information and the like temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1097.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1095 may authenticatethe user to be a registered user who requested to purchase the packagemedia using the client terminal 1002. In this case, the control section1090 proceeds to the next step SP1047.

At step SP1047, the control section 1090 performs purchase processessuch as shipping the requested package media to the user of the clientterminal 1002. The control section 1090 transmits charging informationto the charging server 1008 via the communication control section 1092and the network interface 1093 in order. The charging information isused to charge the user who purchased the package medium. In thismanner, the control section 1090 allows the charging server 1008 toperform a charging process corresponding to the user's purchase of thepackage medium.

Further, the control section 1090 allows the authentication processingsection 1090 to extend the valid period of the service session IDinformation and the like issued to the client terminal 1002.

After terminating the charging process, at step SP1048, the controlsection 1090 transmits purchase completion information as well as theservice session ID information and the like to the client terminal 1002via the communication control section 1092 and the network interface1093 in order. At this time, the purchase completion informationindicates completion of the package media purchase process. Theauthentication processing section 1095 has extended the valid period ofthe service session ID information.

At step SP1049, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the purchase completion information and the service session IDinformation and the like via the network interface 1033 and thecommunication control section 1032 in order. The purchase completioninformation is transmitted from the trade server 1005. The servicesession ID information has the extended valid period. The controlsection 1023 then transmits the received purchase completion informationto the page information generation section 1036. In addition, thecontrol section 1023 transmits the service session ID information andthe like received from the trade server 1005 to the authenticationprocessing section 1037.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received service sessionID information having the extended valid period and the like in theauthentication information storage section 1038 so as to overwrite theservice session ID information and the like before extension of thevalid period. In this manner, the authentication processing section 1037updates the contents of the service session ID information and the liketemporarily stored in the authentication information storage section1038.

Further, the page information generation section 1036 generates videodata based on the purchase completion information supplied from thecontrol section 1023. The display control section 1024 converts thegenerated video data into an analog video signal and transmits it to thedisplay section 1025.

The control section 1023 allows the display section 1025 to display thepurchase completion page as a video based on the analog video signal.

In this manner, the client terminal 1002 can allow the user to purchaseintended package media using the trade service provided by the tradeserver 1005.

(1-7-3-3) On-Air-List Information Delivery Service Provision Process

With reference to FIG. 25, the following describes the radio broadcastinformation delivery service provision process. During this process, theclient terminal 1002 is provided with a radio broadcast informationdelivery service, especially an on-air-list information delivery servicefrom the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006.

For example, the user enters retrieval key to retrieve intendedon-air-list information into an input box of the on-air-list informationdelivery page displayed as a video on the display section 1025. Acontrol command corresponding to a character string indicating theentered retrieval key is input through the input processing section1021. At step SP1060, the control section 1023 of the client terminal1002 responds to the entered control command and generates anon-air-list information request signal to request download of theintended on-air-list information.

The control section 1023 sends the on-air-list information requestsignal together with the service session ID information and the like tothe radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 via thecommunication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 inorder. The service session ID information and the like are alreadyissued by the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 and aretemporarily stored in the authentication information storage section1038.

At step SP1061, the control section 1110 of the radio broadcastinformation delivery server 1006 receives the on-air-list informationrequest signal, the service session ID information, and the like sentfrom the client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1113 and thecommunication control section 1112 in order. The control section 1110then sends the received service session ID information and the like tothe authentication processing section 1115.

Under the control of the control section 1110, the authenticationprocessing section 1115 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1115 compares thereceived service session ID information and the like with the servicesession ID information and the like temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1120.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1115 may authenticatethe user to be a registered user who requested the on-air-listinformation using the client terminal 1002. In this case, the controlsection 1110 proceeds to the next step SP1062.

At step SP1062, based on the retrieval key stored in the on-air-listinformation request signal, the retrieval section 1118 searches theentire on-air-list information in the on-air-list information storagesection 1117 for the targeted on-air-list information within a specifiedrange corresponding to the retrieval condition indicated by theretrieval key.

Let us assume that the retrieval section 1118 retrieves the on-air-listinformation. The control section 1110 allows the authenticationprocessing section 1115 to extend the valid period for the servicesession ID information and the like issued to the client terminal 1002.The control section 1110 then proceeds to the next step SP1063.

At step SP1063, the control section 1110 reads the on-air-listinformation retrieved by the retrieval section 1118 from the on-air-listinformation storage section 1117. In addition, the control section 1110sends the read on-air-list information together with the service sessionID information and the like to the client terminal 1002 via thecommunication control section 1112 and the network interface 1113 inorder. At this time, the service session ID information has the validperiod extended by the authentication processing section 1115.

At step SP1064, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the on-air-list information sent from the radio broadcastinformation delivery server 1006, the service session ID informationhaving the extended valid period, and the like via the network interface1033 and the communication control section 1032 in order. The controlsection 1023 sends the received on-air-list information to the pageinformation generation section 1036. In addition, the control section1023 sends the service session ID information and the like received fromthe radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 to theauthentication processing section 1037.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received service sessionID information having the extended valid period in the authenticationinformation storage section 1038 so as to overwrite the service sessionID information having the valid period not extended. In this manner, theauthentication processing section 1037 updates the contents of theservice session ID information and the like temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1038.

The page information generation section 1036 generates video data basedon the on-air-list information supplied from the control section 1023.The display control section 1024 converts the generated video data intoan analog video signal and sends it to the display section 1025. Thedisplay section 1025 displays the on-air-list information as a videobased on the analog video signal.

In this manner, the client terminal 1002 can allow the user to acquireintended on-air-list information by using the radio broadcastinformation delivery service provided by the radio broadcast informationdelivery server 1006.

(1-7-3-4) Now-On-Air Information Delivery Service Provision Process

With reference to FIG. 26, the following describes a radio broadcastinformation delivery service provision process. During this process, theclient terminal 1002 is provided with a radio broadcast informationdelivery service, especially a now-on-air information delivery servicefrom the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006.

The radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 to supplynow-on-air information is provided for each radio station (call sign).

Initially, the client terminal 1002 may not store URL information aboutthe radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 corresponding toeach radio station.

The following radio broadcast information delivery service provisionprocess exemplifies a case where the portal server 1003 manages URLinformation about each radio broadcast information delivery server 1006for each call sign.

According to the radio broadcast information delivery service provisionprocess, the client terminal 1002 may need to automatically preset abroadcast frequency for each radio station. For this purpose, the clientterminal 1002 requests the portal server 1003 for frequency informationindicating that broadcast frequency. In such case, it is assumed thatthe authentication information storage section 1038 does not temporarilystore the authentication session ID information and the like.Consequently, the client terminal 1002 first needs to send the user IDinformation, the password information, and the like to the portal server1003.

When the input processing section 1021 inputs an operation command torequest to automatically preset the broadcast frequency of each radiostation. In response to this command, at step SP1070, the controlsection 1023 of the client terminal 1002 sends a frequency informationrequest signal to request to acquire frequency information about abroadcast frequency which each radio station can receive. The controlsection 1023 sends the frequency information request signal togetherwith an area code input by the user, the user ID information, thepassword information, and the like stored in the authenticationinformation storage section 1038 to the portal server 1003 via thecommunication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 inorder.

At step SP1071, the control section 1050 of the portal server 1003receives the frequency information request signal, the area code, theuser ID information, the password information, and the like sent fromthe client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1053 and thecommunication control section 1052 in order. Of these pieces ofinformation, the control section 1050 sends the user ID information, thepassword information, and the like to the authentication processingsection 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1056 compares thereceived user ID information, the password information, and the likewith the customer information registered in the customer databasesection 1054.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1056 may authenticatethe user of the client terminal 1002 to be a registered user. Further,the authentication processing section 1056 may determine that the clientterminal 1002 issued a valid request to acquire the frequencyinformation. Under the control of the control section 1050, theauthentication processing section 1056 issues the authentication sessionID information and the like about the state of communication connectionbetween the client terminal 1002 and the portal server 1003 at thepresent time. The authentication processing section 1056 temporarilystores the issued authentication session ID information and the like inthe authentication information storage section 1057.

The control section 1050 then proceeds to the next step SP1072.

At step SP1072, the control section 1050 performs a search based on thearea code received from the client terminal 1002. That is to say, thecontrol section 1050 searches a list of a plurality of frequencyinformation, radio station names, and call signs in the frequencyinformation storage section 1058 for those corresponding to the areacode and reads them in a list format.

The control section 1050 reads the frequency information, the radiostation name, and the call sign in a list form from the frequencyinformation storage section 1058 and sends them along with theauthentication session ID information and the like to the clientterminal 1002 via the communication control section 1052 and the networkinterface 1053 in order. The authentication session ID information andthe like were issued to the client terminal 1002 by the authenticationprocessing section 1056 at the above-mentioned step SP1071.

At step SP 1073, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the list of frequency information, radio station name, and callsign sent from the portal server 1003 as well as the authenticationsession ID information and the like via the network interface 1033 andthe communication control section 1032 in order. The control section1023 sends the authentication session ID information and the likereceived from the portal server 1003 to the authentication processingsection 1037. In addition, the control section 1023 sends the list offrequency information, radio station name, and call sign to the displaycontrol section 1024.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received authenticationsession ID information and the like in the authentication informationstorage section 1038.

The display control section 1024 is supplied with the list of frequencyinformation, radio station name, and call sign from the control section1023 and sends the list to the display section 1025. The display section1025 thus displays the list.

At this time, the control section 1023 identifies a selection commandsupplied from the input processing section 1021. Based on this command,the control section 1023 stores the selected frequency information,radio station name, and call sign as a preset in the storage medium1029. The control section 1023 then proceeds to the next step SP1074.

At step SP1074, the control section 1023 identifies a tuning controlcommand supplied from the input processing section 1021. Based on thiscommand, the control section 1023 controls the tuner section 1031 so asto extract a radio broadcasting signal from radio broadcasting waves.This radio broadcasting signal should be used for the radio broadcastcarried at the broadcast frequency corresponding to the tuning controlcommand.

A broadcast signal reception section 30 receives radio broadcastingwaves. Of these radio broadcasting waves, the tuner section 1031extracts the radio broadcasting signal carried at the broadcastfrequency. The tuner section 1031 applies specified reception processessuch as decoding to the extracted radio broadcasting signal. As aresult, audio data is generated. The tuner section 1031 sends this audiodata to the audio control section 1026.

The audio control section 1026 converts the audio data supplied from thetuner section 1031 into an analog audio signal. Then, the audio controlsection 1026 outputs the analog audio signal to the speaker 1027. Thespeaker 1027 thus outputs audio of the,selected radio program.

At step SP1075, under the control of the control section 1023, the radiobroadcasting display control section 1039 reads a call sign from thestorage medium 1029. This call sign is stored correspondingly to thefrequency information indicating the broadcast frequency correspondingto the above-mentioned tuning control command. The radio broadcastingdisplay control section 1039 sends the read call sign to the portalserver 1003 via the communication control section 1032 and the networkinterface 1033 in order. Likewise, the radio broadcasting displaycontrol section 1039 sends authentication session ID information and thelike temporarily stored in the authentication information storagesection 1038.

In this embodiment, as described above, the call sign that is storedcorrespondingly to the frequency information corresponding to the tuningcontrol command (that is, the call sign of the broadcast frequency whichis now selected) is transmitted from the radio broadcasting displaycontrol section 1039 to the portal server 1003, but not limited to this.It is also possible to transmit other call signs (that is, the call signof the broadcast frequency which is not selected now) to portal server1003.

At step SP1076, the control section 1050 of the portal server 1003receives the call sign, the authentication session ID information, andthe like sent from the client terminal 1002 via the network interface1053 and the communication control section 1052 in order. The controlsection 1050 sends the received authentication session ID informationand the like to the authentication processing section 1056.

Under the control of the control section 1050, the authenticationprocessing section 1056 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1056 compares thereceived authentication session ID information and the like with theauthentication session ID information and the like temporarily stored inthe authentication information storage section 1057.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1056 may confirm thatthe authentication session ID information and the like are received fromthe client terminal 1002 within the valid period. When the user sent thecall sign using the client terminal 1002, the authentication processingsection 1056 may authenticate this user to be a registered user. In suchcase, the control section 1050 proceeds to the next step SP1077.

At step SP1077, the control section 1050 searches a plurality of URLinformation in the URL storage section 1059 for the URL informationcorresponding to the call sign based on the call sign received from theclient terminal 1002.

The control section 1050 allows the authentication processing section1056 to extend the valid period of the authentication session IDinformation and the like issued to the client terminal 1002.

The control section 1050 reads the retrieved URL information from theURL storage section 1059. The control section 1050 sends the read URLinformation as well as the authentication session ID information and thelike having the valid period extended by the authentication processingsection 1056 to the client terminal 1002 via the communication controlsection 1052 and the network interface 1053 in order.

At step SP1078, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the URL information and the authentication session IDinformation having the extended valid period and the like sent from theportal server 1003 via the network interface 1033 and the communicationcontrol section 1032 in order. The control section 1023 sends thereceived authentication session ID information and the like to theauthentication processing section 1037. The control section 1023 sendsthe URL information to the radio broadcasting display control section1039.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received authenticationsession ID information having the extended valid period in theauthentication information storage section 1038 to overwrite theauthentication session ID information having the valid period notextended. In this manner, the authentication processing section 1037updates the contents of the authentication session ID information andthe like temporarily stored in the authentication information storagesection 1038.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the radio broadcastingdisplay control section 1039 temporarily stores the URL informationsupplied from the control section 1023 in the storage medium 1029 andthe like correspondingly to the call sign stored in the storage medium1029.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the radio broadcastingdisplay control section 1039 follows the URL information temporarilystored in the storage medium 1029 and the like. According to thisinformation, the radio broadcasting display control section 1039 sends anow-on-air information request signal to the radio broadcast informationdelivery server 1006 via the communication control section 1032 and thenetwork interface 1033 in order. The now-on-air information requestsignal requests to acquire the now-on-air information. Likewise, theradio broadcasting display control section 1039 sends the servicesession ID information and the like that are already received from theradio broadcast information delivery server 1006 and are temporarilystored in the authentication information storage section 1038.

In the radio broadcast information delivery service provision process,at step SP1078, the client terminal 1002 sends the now-on-airinformation request signal, the service session ID information, and thelike to the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006. Thisprocess corresponds to the process at step SP1010 in FIG. 22 asmentioned above.

Therefore, in the radio broadcast information delivery service provisionprocess, the process at step SP1078 is followed by the userauthentication process equivalent to steps SP1011 through SP1013 andsteps SP1018 through SP1022 in the client terminal 1002, the radiobroadcast information delivery server 1006, and the portal server 1003as mentioned above with reference to FIG. 22. After these steps areperformed in succession, control proceeds to the next step SP1079.

At step SP1079, under the control of the control section 1023, the radiobroadcasting display control section 1039 of the client terminal 1002again follows the URL information temporarily stored in the storagemedium 1029 and the like and sends a now-on-air information requestsignal to the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 via thecommunication control section 1032 and the network interface 1033 inorder. Likewise, the radio broadcasting display control section 1039sends the service session ID information and the like that are alreadyreceived from the radio broadcast information delivery server 1006 andare temporarily stored in the authentication information storage section1038.

At step SP1080, the control section 1110 of the radio broadcastinformation delivery server 1006 receives the now-on-air informationrequest signal, the service session ID information, and the like sentfrom the client terminal 1002 via the network interface 1113 and thecommunication control section 1112 in order. The control section 1110sends the received authentication session ID information and the like tothe authentication processing section 1115.

Under the control of the control section 1110, the authenticationprocessing section 1115 performs the user authentication process.Specifically, the authentication processing section 1115 compares thereceived service session ID information and the like with the servicesession ID information and the like temporarily stored in theauthentication information storage section 1120.

As a result, the authentication processing section 1115 may authenticatethe user of the client terminal 1002 to be a registered user. In thiscase, the authentication processing section 1115 determines that theclient terminal 1002 issued the valid request to acquire the now-on-airinformation.

When the authentication processing section 1115 authenticates the userof the client terminal 1002 to be a registered user. In this case, thecontrol section 1110 extends the valid period of the service session IDinformation and the like issued to the client terminal 1002 by theauthentication processing section 1115, and then proceeds to the nextstep SP1081.

At step SP1081, the control section 1110 reads the now-on-airinformation from the now-on-air information storage section 1119. Thecontrol section 1110 sends the read now-on-air information as well asthe service session ID information and the like having the valid periodextended by the authentication processing section 1115 to the clientterminal 1002 via the communication control section 1112 and the networkinterface 1113 in order.

At step SP1082, the control section 1023 of the client terminal 1002receives the now-on-air information and the service session IDinformation and the like having the extended valid period sent from theradio broadcast information delivery server 1006 via the networkinterface 1033 and the communication control section 1032 in order. Thecontrol section 1023 sends the received service session ID informationand the like to the authentication processing section 1037. The controlsection 1023 sends the now-on-air information to the radio broadcastingdisplay control section 1039.

Under the control of the control section 1023, the authenticationprocessing section 1037 temporarily stores the received service sessionID information having the extended valid period and the like in theauthentication information storage section 1038 to overwrite the servicesession ID information having the valid period not extended. In thismanner, the authentication processing section 1037 updates the contentsof the service session ID information and the like temporarily stored inthe authentication information storage section 1038.

Further, the radio broadcasting display control section 1039 sends thenow-on-air information supplied from the control section 1023 to thedisplay section 1025 via the display control section 1024. In thismanner, the display section 1025 is allowed to display the now-on-airinformation concerning the radio program in the currently received radiobroadcast.

In the radio broadcast information delivery service provision process,the client terminal 1002 thereafter periodically repeats the acquisitionrequest for now-on-air information at step SP1079. The radio broadcastinformation delivery server 1006 receives the acquisition request fromthe client terminal 1002 and successively performs the process at stepsSP1080 and SP1081.

In this manner, the client terminal 1002 can realtime update thenow-on-air information and display it on the display section 1025 of theclient terminal 1002. For example, the now-on-air information includesthe name of the currently received radio program, the program broadcaststart time, the program broadcast end time, the title and artist name ofmusic currently played in the radio program, and the broadcast starttime of the music.

With the program modules explained in FIG. 5, the HTTP message program111 and the communicator program 112 can implement the same functions asthe communication control section 1032 (FIG. 15) of the client terminal1002.

The content reproduction module 113 is a program module capable ofimplementing the same functions as the encoder/decoder section 1034(FIG. 15) of the client terminal 1002.

The copyright protection information management module 114 is a programmodule capable of implementing the same functions as the copyrightmanagement section 1035 (FIG. 15) of the client terminal 1002.

The Internet radio channel selection/reproduction module 118 is aprogram module capable of implementing the same functions as the controlsection 1023 and the audio control section 1026 (FIG. 15) of the clientterminal 1002.

The music purchase/reproduction module 119 is a program module capableof implementing the same functions as the control section 1023 and theaudio control section 1026 (FIG. 15) of the client terminal 1002.

The XML browser 151 is a program module capable of implementing the samefunctions as the input processing section 1021 and the page informationgeneration section 1036 (FIG. 15) of the client terminal 1002.

The hard disk contents controller 117, the database access module 115,and the content data access module 116 are program, modules capable ofimplementing the same functions as the control section 1023 (FIG. 15) ofthe client terminal 1002.

The authentication library 131 of the library 130 is a program modulecapable of implementing the same functions as the authenticationprocessing section 1037 and the authentication information storagesection 1038 (FIG. 15) of the client terminal 1002.

The clip library 132 of the library 130 is a program module capable ofimplementing the same functions as the control section 1023 (FIG. 15) ofthe client terminal 1002.

The associated information display module 120 is a program modulecapable of implementing the same functions as the radio broadcastingdisplay control section 1039 (FIG. 15) of the client terminal 1002.

The tuner selection/reproduction/recording module 121 is a programmodule capable of implementing the same functions as the control section1023, the audio control section 1026, and the tuner section 1031 (FIG.15) of the client terminal 1002.

The audio user interface 152 is a program module capable of implementingthe same functions as the input processing section 1021, the controlsection 1023, and the display control section 1024 (FIG. 15) of theclient terminal 1002.

The CD reproduction module 141 is a program module capable ofimplementing the same functions as the audio control section 1026 andthe external recording media recording and reproducing section 1028(FIG. 15) of the client terminal 1002.

The HDD reproduction module 142 is a program module capable ofimplementing the same functions as the control section 1023 and theaudio control section 1026 (FIG. 15) of the client terminal 1002.

That is to say, the CPU 11 of the terminal device 10 can perform thesame processes like the client terminal 1002 does by executing theseprogram modules.

By the way, in the aforementioned embodiments, the client terminal 1002receives radio broadcasts from a radio station. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this but also the client terminal 1002 mayreceive Internet radio broadcasts or satellite broadcasts, and obtaintheir associated information and radio broadcast information. Inaddition, the client terminal 1002 may receive television broadcastsbroadcast by a television station, and obtain various kinds of broadcastinformation regarding programs in the television broadcasts from serversvia the network NT1000.

In the aforementioned embodiments, it has dealt with the case where thehardware circuit block, the function circuit block and the programmodules are mounted on the client terminal 1002. However, the presentinvention is not only limited to this but also they may be mounted onvarious terminals other than the client terminal 1002, such as aportable telephone set, and a personal computer. Processes that aresimilar to the aforementioned processes executed by the client terminals1002 can be brought to realization, if the terminals have the hardwarecircuit block, the function circuit block and the program modules.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be applied to a reproduction apparatus and thelike which receive broadcast signals from a broadcast station, andreproduce the broadcast signals, and acquire information that isassociated with the broadcast and is supplied by the broadcast stationvia a network.

1. A reproduction apparatus comprising: broadcast signal receiving means for receiving a broadcast signal of a specific frequency; broadcast signal reproduction means for reproducing the broadcast signal received by said broadcast signal receiving means; request information transmitting means for transmitting request information for requesting associated information of a broadcast station which is different from the broadcast station being reproduced by said broadcast signal reproduction means; associated information receiving means for receiving the associated information corresponding to said request information; and associated information display means for displaying the associated information received by said associated information receiving means.
 2. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a broadcast station name, a frequency and a call sign are pre-stored in association with one another, the broadcast signal of the frequency of the broadcast station selected by a first operation is received, the broadcast signal is reproduced, said request information including the call sign of the broadcast station selected by said first operation is transmitted, the associated information is received, the associated information id displayed, said request information including the call sign of the broadcast station selected by a second operation is transmitted, the associated information is received, and a display is changed.
 3. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a reception frequency is switched by a third operation.
 4. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: a plurality of said request information including pre-stored call signs of a plurality of the broadcast stations are transmitted at a certain interval of time, and each associated information is received; and said associated information display means displays the received associated information at once.
 5. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said associated information display means displays indication of whether or not displaying the associated information of the broadcast station from which the broadcast signal is being received.
 6. A reproduction method comprising: a broadcast signal receiving step of receiving a broadcast signal of a specific frequency; a broadcast signal reproduction step of reproducing the received broadcast signal; a request information transmitting step of transmitting request information for requesting associated information of a broadcast station which is different from the broadcast station being reproduced; an associated information receiving step of receiving the associated information corresponding to said request information; and an associated information display step of displaying the received associated information.
 7. The reproduction method according to claim 6 wherein a broadcast station name, a frequency and a call sign are pre-stored in association with one another, the broadcast signal of the frequency of the broadcast station selected by a first operation is received, the broadcast signal is reproduced, said request information including the call sign of the broadcast station selected by said first operation is transmitted, the associated information is received, the associated information is displayed, said request information including the call sign of the broadcast station selected by a second operation is transmitted, the associated information is received, changing a display is changed.
 8. The reproduction method according to claim 7, wherein a reception frequency is switched by a third operation.
 9. The reproduction method according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of said associated information including pre-stored call signs of a plurality of the broadcast stations are transmitted at a certain interval of time, each associated information is received, and the received associated information is displayed at once.
 10. The reproduction method according to claim 6, wherein indication of whether or not displaying the associated information of the broadcast station from which the broadcast signal is being received is displayed.
 11. The reproduction method according to claim 6, wherein: a terminal apparatus which receives the broadcast signal is capable of communicating with an authentication server having an authentication function and an associated information provision server providing the associated information; said terminal apparatus transmits the request information and a service session ID to said associated information provision server, said request information for requesting the associated information of the broadcast station which is different from the broadcast station being reproduced, said service session ID being used as a session ID for said associated information provision server; said terminal apparatus receives information indicating an authentication error and service identification information identifying said associated information provision server; said terminal apparatus transmits authentication ticket issuance request information and an authentication session ID to said authentication server, said ticket issuance request information for requesting an issue of an authentication ticket to be used to access said associated information provision server, said authentication session ID being used as a session ID for said authentication server; said terminal apparatus receives the authentication ticket issued by said authentication server when the authentication is permitted by said authentication server, and transmits authentication request information and said authentication ticket to said associated information provision server; said terminal apparatus receives the service session ID when the authentication is permitted by said associated information provision server, said service session ID being used as a session ID for said associated information provision server; said terminal apparatus transmits the request information for requesting said associated information and said received service session ID to said associated information provision server; and said terminal apparatus receives the associated information corresponding to said request information when the authentication is permitted by the associated information provision server.
 12. The reproduction method according to claim 11, comprising the steps of: receiving information that indicates the authentication error when the authentication conducted by said authentication server becomes an error, and transmitting a user ID and a password to said authentication server; receiving the authentication session ID when the authentication of said user ID and said password is permitted by said authentication server, said authentication session ID being used as a session ID for the authentication server; and transmitting said authentication ticket issuance request information and said authentication session ID to said authentication server.
 13. A program for causing a computer to execute processing of: receiving a broadcast signal of a specific frequency; reproducing the received broadcast signal; transmitting request information for requesting associated information of a broadcast station which is different from the broadcast station being reproduced; receiving the associated information corresponding to said request information; and displaying the received associated information. 